Pembina Pipeline Corp. will proceed with a $4.5 billion “integrated propane dehydrogenation plan and polypropylene” facility in Sturgeon County, northeast of Edmonton.
The plant is a joint venture with Kuwait-based Petrochemical Industries Co. The facilities’ plastic pellets will be sent by rail and shipping containers to manufacturers around the world.
The new plant will be built on about 2,200 acres of land adjacent to Pembina’s Redwater complex. Pembina bought the land three years ago, the same year the Alberta government awarded it $300 million in royalty credits through its petrochemicals diversification program.
The complex will process about 23,000 barrels per day of Alberta propane into polypropylene, which is a high-value plastic material used to make products such as food packaging, auto parts and electronics.
At the peak of construction, more than 3,000 workers will be on site, with the project expected to create over 200 full-time operations and head office jobs upon completion.
Construction is expected to start this year, with the complex fully operational by mid-2023. The project will receive royalty credits after the facility has been constructed and is in operation.
The provincial government announced a second round of support for petrochemical upgrading in 2018, with total support now reaching $2.1 billion, expected to encourage about $20 billion in private-sector investment.
This would help create as many as 15,500 jobs during construction of multiple petrochemical facilities across the province, according to the Alberta government.
