With recent talk of a new pipeline, dubbed the Northern Shield Energy Corridor, from Alberta east to Ontario, terminating at Sarnia to supply the city's oil refineries, I thought it would be a good opportunity to look back at my own little journey in the summer of 2022 from the Toronto area west to Sarnia to photograph these facilities. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was also a journey would end up being long-winded, and also with much risk.

Sarnia: Bayside 25Looking across Sarnia Bay and downstream along the St. Clair River to Chemical Valley. I did not journey to Sarnia with a plan to document its oil industry. Its presence in the city is impossible to escape, the giant smokestacks are unmistakable and plainly visible, always looming in the distance downriver from anywhere along Sarnia's waterfront. But somehow I never gave much thought to them, perhaps because of my lack of knowledge about Sarnia's economy. However, when visiting Guthrie Park just outside the city, the presence of Shell Canada's Sarnia Manufacturing Centre looming tall directly across the street behind me was impossible to ignore. Only then did the subject start to pique my interest and give me an idea to do an entire series of photos. I snapped a few pictures, and set out again the very next day on foot to photograph the oil refineries within the city proper.

Chemical Valley 1Shell Canada's Sarnia Manufacturing Centre, also known as Shell's Corunna Refinery, in Corunna, Ontario.

Sarnia's so-called "Chemical Valley" lies on the south end of the city and consists of three oil refineries, one owned by Imperial Oil, another owned by Suncor, and the aforementioned Shell refinery right outside the city limits in Corunna. Together, the Imperial Oil and Suncor refineries encompass approximately eight square kilometres of land, roughly one-eighth of Sarnia's urban area. The sprawling Imperial Oil complex comprises the vast majority of this land, which is the main subject of this series. After spending an hour and a half walking around and taking photos nonstop, I may have been too tired or lazy to walk another 30 minutes down Vidal Street South just to reach the much smaller Suncor refinery.

Chemical Valley 14Part of the Imperial Oil refinery along Christina Street South in Sarnia. Premiers Doug Ford and Danielle Smith have tried to frame their proposed east-west pipeline as in the public interest, but based on my interactions with security guards and police while shooting these photos, I think this pipeline could be as much, if not more, about private interests. Even though I was walking in a public right of way, the security guards followed me in their car for almost an hour before the police finally arrived. Furthermore, shortly after I took these photos, and possibly because I took these photos, Imperial Oil covered up all of the fences to block these facilities from public view. Is reinforcing or even expanding the oil industry in Sarnia in the public interest? It seems that Imperial Oil does not think so.

Chemical Valley 25Looking under a pipe bridge along Vidal Street South a few seconds before the police arrived. The Shell and Suncor refineries can each process up to 85,000 barrels of crude oil per day, while the Imperial Oil refinery can process up to 121,000, for a combined total of 291,000 barrels per day. The new east-west pipeline proposed by the governments of Alberta and Ontario would have a capacity of 500,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Unless these refineries expand or other oil companies start operations in Sarnia, the numbers don't seem to add up.

I tried to take these photos honestly and objectively, driven primarily by my interest in industrial architecture rather than by any political agenda. After all, these photos were taken over four years ago, well before any of the recent political tensions. But I hope they can give viewers an idea of the scale of Sarnia's oil industry and what the proposed east-west pipeline would serve, and help them decide whether or not it is what Canada needs.

To see all 43 photos in the series, visit the gallery page: Sarnia: Chemical Valley.

Chemical Valley 19Imperial Oil espouses sustainability along Clifford Street in Sarnia.

Chemical Valley 32Oil tanks along Vidal Street South in Sarnia.