Come by Chance refinery up for sale, says business report

The Come by Chance refinery has been put up for sale, according to Reuters.

The news agency reportedTuesday afternoon that SilverPeak Financial, the owners of North Atlantic Refining Limited, are looking to sell the plant less than three years after it was bought.

The negotiations are said to be preliminary.

According to sources cited by Reuters, the company is not making much money with the refinery,which it bought in 2014.

North Atlantic laid off about 80 workers in March following weeks of negotiations. At the time, company representatives told the media the refinery was barely making moneyand had higher costs than its competitors.

"Is this refinery injeopardyof shutting down? It is a possibility," manager Dan Harris said in December.

• 'Only the strongest will survive,' says refinery manager
• Come by Chance refinery warns carbon tax could shut it down

The company also warned that a carbon tax would shut it down.

The province is required to take action on a carbon pricing plan by January of 2018, or Ottawa will impose a pollution penalty of $10 dollars a tonne, increasing that to $50 a tonne by 2022.

About 600 people work at the refinery, according to information obtained by CBC News through an access to information request.