began offshore exploration in Newfoundland. In the face of the 1979 oil crisis, that year, BP Canada posted profits of 63.1 million, an increase of 93 percent from the previous year. In 1977, Fowler stepped down as chairman and was replaced by Mitchell. The board appointed Robert Walter Dawson Hanbidge (1925–2002) as the new president. In 1980, the year of the Quebec independence referendum, the company announced that it would relocated its offices from Montreal to Toronto. Its new headquarters were established in First Canadian Place. On 29 October 1981, Mitchell died unexpectedly. His replacement was Robert Wilson Adam (1923–1993), the deputy chairman of British Petroleum. Independent company, 1982–1992 In October 1982, rumors began to circulate about the possibility of Petro-Canada or the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec purchasing BP Canada. By the beginning of November, BP reached an agreement to sell all its downstream assets to Petro-Canada for $577 million. This included 1,640 retail stations in Ontario and Quebec, the Oakville Refinery, and $180 million of oil stored in the refinery. To execute the deal, BP Canada was reorganised into two parts. Downstream assets were consolidated into a company called BP Refining and Marketing Limited, which Petro-Canada purchased for $16.10 a share. Upstream assets were consolidated in a company called BP Resources Canada Limited, which would continue. On 1 February 1983 the Supreme Court of Ontario approved the deal, and the purchase was finalised on 11 March. BP Canada had thus become an independent exploration and production company. The head offices in Toronto were closed and the executive functions moved to BP House in Calgary, which had been the home of the company's western operations. Following the sale, Hanbidge retired on 1 May and was replaced as president by Maurice Anthony Kirkby (1929–). In 1984, Donald Southam Harvie (1924–2001), the son of Eric Harvie, was elected chairman. On 27 April 1984, BP Resources Canada changed its name to BP Canada Inc., the name of the company prior to the Petro-Canada sale. BP Canada's performance fluctuated through the 1980s. In 1987 its profits were a record $44.6 million, yet, the following year they decreased to $10.3 million. David A. Claydon replaced Kirkby as president in 1988, but stepped down in 1991 to assume the chairmanship upon Harvie's retirement. BP Canada's final president was Dr James William Buckee (1946–), who was appointed in 1991. Between 1990 and 1992, BP