Tim Boyce was driving to work Thursday morning when he heard on the radio Shell Canada was giving away free gas for 70 minutes at Don Holden’s Shell station in Sarnia.
He asked himself, “Am I dreaming?” Then he decided, “Free gas, I’ll take advantage of that,” and joined a lineup that, at one point, stretched nearly half a kilometer down Christina Street.
“It’s a great thing these guys are doing,” Boyce said while his tank was being filled. “I appreciate it.”
A spokesperson for petrochemical giant, Olwen Gover, said workers from the company’s nearby refinery in Corunna took over manning the pumps at the station at the corner of Christina and Exmouth streets from 7:45 am to 8:55 am to pump as much as 70 liters of free gas for each vehicle that stopped in. With gas prices still at near-record levels after peaking in June, the gas giveaway proved one of the most popular of Shell’s 70th anniversary events for its refinery on the St. Clair Parkway.
Some events have been held at the refinery site while others have been in community-based celebrations “to really thank them for supporting us for the past 70 years,” Gover said.
“We believe in fueling kindness,” she said. “Little acts can go a long way.”
About 40 employees from the manufacturing center were decked out in black pants, white shirts, bright safety vests and captain’s peaked caps with the company logo while helping out.
City police officers were also there to direct traffic and help with the long lineup.
“We’ve been planning this for months,” Gover said. “We’re really excited to be able to do this.”
She said they expected to be able to put between 112 and 120 vehicles through the pumps during the 70 minutes.
According to the website gasbuddy.com, regular gasoline was selling Thursday for between $1.64.9 and $179.9 a liter in Sarnia.
“I’m glad they’re giving back to Sarnia,” station owner Brenda Holden said while watching the giveaway.
The service station will celebrate its own 50th anniversary next year and is one of the few in the region still pumping gas for customers, she said.
Gover said Shell set a goal of organizing at least 70 “fuelling kindness” events for the anniversary.
One was tied to a recent $120-million spring maintenance turnaround just being completed at the refinery.
For each day of the turnaround with no lost-time incidents, Shell pledged to donate $1,000 to the Access Open Minds youth mental health project planned for downtown Sarnia.
“I think we just topped it off at $112,000 that we’re donating,” Gover said
Built originally by Canadian Oil Companies Ltd. in 1952, the refinery became part of Shell in the early 1960s.
It makes gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as base materials for chemical producers, including its own chemical plant built at site in 1970 that is a key manufacturer of isopropyl alcohol, an ingredient used to make hand sanitizers and disinfectants.
There are approximately 380 full-time Shell employees working at the site.