Sturgeon County petrochemical upgrading facility moves forward

by Morinville News Staff

Canada Kuwait Petrochemical Corporation (CKPC), which includes Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp., have made their final investment decision, which will see the construction of a petrochemical upgrading facility in Sturgeon County adjacent to Pembina’s Redwater fractionation complex.

The complex will process about 23,000 barrels per day of Alberta propane into polypropylene, which is a much higher-value plastic material used around the world to make products such as food packaging, auto parts and electronics.

“Led by thousands of Alberta workers and a Calgary-based company, this project is truly Made-in-Alberta,” said Premier Rachel Notley in a media release. “By adding value to resources owned by all Albertans, we’re putting economic diversification first and seizing opportunities to upgrade more resources right here in this province.”

More than 3,000 workers will be on site at the peak of construction and 200 full-time operations and head office jobs are anticipated on completion.

“We’ve worked very hard to reach this significant milestone which represents substantial benefits to Sturgeon County through jobs and economic diversification. Pembina and PIC are successful, leading-edge companies that will provide highly skilled, educated and paid jobs with over 50,000 person-years of employment, anticipated over the life of the project,” said Sturgeon County Mayor, Alanna Hnatiw in a release Tuesday morning. “We thank the province for its support of value-added processing in one of the world’s most attractive locations for chemical, petrochemical, oil, and gas investments.”

Construction is expected to start in 2019, with the complex fully operational by mid-2023. The project will receive royalty credits after the facility has been constructed and is in operation.

CKPC was approved in 2016 to receive up to $300 million in royalty credits under the first Made-in-Alberta program to encourage private investment in petrochemical upgrading.

Inter Pipeline’s $3.5-billion Heartland Petrochemical Complex is another Made-in-Alberta project under construction near Fort Saskatchewan. The complex is a gas-to-plastics operation, employing about 2,300 people during construction with 180 full-time jobs upon completion.

Story updated 9:30 Feb. 5 to add commentary from Sturgeon County

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