Kenneth Colin (K.C.) Irving established Irving Oil Limited in 1924, when he was 25 years old.
In 1977, Irving became the first Canadian oil company to offer unleaded gasoline at its retail outlets.
Irving was the first in North America to offer gasoline with very low sulphur content, a fact which was recognized by many automobile manufacturers.
In 1960 the company built an oil refinery at Saint John in partnership with Chevron. Irving bought out Chevron's share of the refinery in the late 1980s and expanded the facility to become Canada's largest refinery, processing over 250,000 barrels per day.
Irving Oil operates bulk furnace oil and propane outlets in most major centres across Atlantic Canada, New England and Quebec as well as select locations in eastern Ontario. Irving Oil operates 769 gas stations in these jurisdictions.
Most of Irving Oil's corporate owned-and-operated stations also contain convenience stores.