Petro-Canada's refinery in Edmonton suffered an equipment malfunction earlier this month, forcing the company to shut it down until repairs could be made. (CBC)

Petro-Canada says its gas stations that have run out of fuel should be back to normal by next week, now that a key piece of equipment has been fixed at its Edmonton refinery.

Earlier this month, the plant's catalytic cracker had to be shut down, which meant Petro-Canada could not refine petroleum products into gasoline. The facility processes 135,000 barrels of crude oil a day.

The interruption left about 90 Petro-Canada stations in Alberta and B.C. without any fuel.

"Customers should start noticing an improvement hopefully by the weekend and into next week," Petro-Canada spokesman Jon Hamilton said Wednesday.

"What we're doing is not only relying on the refinery unit, we're also maintaining the additional supply measures that we brought on over the last few weeks."

Hamilton said Petro-Canada will continue to use rail cars and a temporary fleet of trucks to distribute gas.

He said the refinery is not at full capacity yet and it will take a while for the company to build up production.

"We'll work through the process and it's a process that does take some time. It requires a focus on safety and a great deal of patience," he said.