Chevron & the Environment

Concern for the environment in all aspects of petroleum manufacturing, storage, handling, distribution and use is the guiding principle at Chevron Canada Limited.

We understand that our responsibilities go beyond regulation. This is why we have a multi-functional approach to environmental issues throughout the company.

Our pursuit of lower emissions has led to significant advances in the quality of the fuels we market, the process by which we transport it, and the systems by which we refine it.

The changes in gasoline and diesel product qualities are one step of many in our program that is addressing objectives of the Greater Vancouver Regional District's Air Quality Management Program. Also underway are improvements to our refinery storage tanks and process equipment engineered to reduce emissions of hydrocarbon vapours.

In our relentless pursuit of cleaner burning fuels, we continuously upgrade and revamp our refining process and our refinery itself.

We continually educate our employees and the public about the impact of petroleum products and the choices that become available as research advances the technology.

Our objective is not just one of compliance with government regulations, but initiatives that anticipate and precede it.

Rigorous recycling, re-use and reduction programs can be found throughout our company. Examples include the multiple re-use of steel drums, recycling of water at our refinery, used oil return programs, as well as paper recycling in our offices.

We operate our company on the highest possible standards - those of the people we serve and the communities we live in.

What is underground at a Chevron station?

Illustration of under a Chevron Station

What is under a Chevron Station?

Chevron uses state of the art equipment when building our stations, and we continually review our procedures to ensure we use the latest technology. This, along with regular maintenance checks and ongoing training for our Retailer network, has made us an industry leader in safe operations to protect the environment.

Vapour recovery. Chevron was the industry leader by initiating Stage I Vapour Recovery at all stations in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. This program recovers hydrocarbon vapours associated with fuel deliveries to service stations.

Double-wall tanks. Since 1990, we have installed only double-walled tanks. These tanks are made of fibreglass reinforced materials, and the double-walled construction provides an extra level of protection to ensure leaks do not occur. They are designed to safely store fuels and protect the environment for many years to come.

Product system monitoring. We install a sensitive probe between the two tank walls to monitor for leaks. Although the chance of an inner-tank leak is very remote, the monitor gives us the information we need to respond quickly if a problem occurs.

Our double-walled piping system is made of state of the art petroleum resistant plastic and we install leak detectors in the gasoline piping system to ensure there is no product leakage as the fuel is being dispensed from the tanks to the pumps.

To provide yet another level of safety, Chevron now installs alarm sensors and electronic inventory monitoring systems to monitor product levels in the tanks. These systems operate 24-hours a day monitoring the underground tanks and containment systems.

Product system containment. Chevron's system protects the environment through containment and monitoring of not just tanks, but also other possible sources of leaks. The system includes:

The equipment and systems we have in place at our stations allow us to promptly detect, contain and respond to leaks in the unlikely event one should occur.

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