Turner Valley Gas Plant

The Turner Valley Gas Plant is a unique historical resource. A development plan is in place to help protect and preserve the site.

The Turner Valley Gas Plant has historical significance for several reasons:

It is relatively intact, and a good representation of petroleum processing technologies from the 1920s to the 1950s.
The cluster of vessels, buildings, machines, pipes and tanks form a unified production facility for the recovery of petroleum products from raw gas.
The uniform shape, materials and colour of the structures represent an integrated and well-defined industrial landscape.
The plant is located at the heart of the Turner Valley oil field, which played an important role in Alberta's and Canada's history.
The preservation objective of the Turner Valley Gas Plant Development Plan is to ensure that the site is protected and available to the public.

The guiding principles for preserving this site focus on stabilization, minimal intervention and public safety. These principles include:

Reuse of existing buildings. Where contemporary space is required, adaptive reuse of existing buildings will be carried out. No new structures are planned for the site.
All existing resources at the site will be protected through stabilization. Only a few buildings and their associated machinery and equipment will be fully rehabilitated in the initial stages.
Buildings will be conserved. There is no intention toward period restoration or reconstruction of buildings or other site elements. Building or equipment restoration will be considered only if it is essential to the interpretation of the site.
The conservation of vessels, pipes, machinery and other equipment will be guided by the principle of minimal intervention. Machinery and equipment will be conserved in order to ensure a safe environment for visitors and staff and to protect the resource from further deterioration.

For more details on preservation activities, please see the Turner Valley Gas Plant Development Plan.