Operators at work in the control room of the Montreal East refinery.
1941
An Imperial service station offering both products and mechanical services.
1942
A truck moves heavy equipment during the building of the Canol Pipeline. A
joint Canadian-U.S. project, the pipeline was built during World War II to
carry oil more than 1,000 kilometres from Norman Wells to Whitehorse in the
event that other supplies were cut off. It was never used.
1943
Oilmen conduct exploration drilling in Saskatchewan.
1944
An Allied ship is refuelled at sea with Imperial product.
1945
A flying boat lands for refuelling in Newfoundland.
1946
An employee of Imperial's subsidiary, the International Petroleum Company,
conducting fieldwork in Colombia.
1947
Nathan Tanner, Alberta's minister of mines and resources (left), turns the
valve to direct oil from Imperial's discovery well at Leduc, Alta., to
storage. Imperial's discovery of oil at Leduc on February 13, 1947, marked the
beginning of Western Canada's great oil development.
1948
A derrick rises above the farmland at Redwater, Alta., where oil was
discovered in 1948.
1949
A scientist conducts catalytic cracking research at the Sarnia Research
Centre. Catalytic cracking involves using a catalyst as well as heat to speed
up refining processes and increases yields of higher-value petroleum products,
such as gasoline, from each barrel of crude oil.
