This release was issued under a previous government.
Alberta’s new Petrochemicals Diversification Program received 16 applications locally and from across the globe, representing more than $20 billion in potential new investment interest in Alberta’s petrochemicals industry. These applications are now under consideration with a third-party monitor, with final decisions to be made within 60 days from today. The highly competitive application process will ensure good value for Albertans, while also supporting the Alberta Jobs Plan to diversify our energy industry and create new job opportunities for Albertans.
“Companies across the globe want to invest billions in Alberta. The number of applications to this program roughly doubled the amount we expected. By investing in new ways to get every bit of value out of our energy resources, we are positioning Alberta to be a major player in the growing global demand for petrochemical products, which will help diversify our energy markets and, most importantly, create stable jobs and more opportunities for Alberta’s workforce to grow and prosper.”
The Petrochemicals Diversification Program, announced on February 1st, encourages companies to invest in the development of new Alberta petrochemical facilities through a $500 million royalty credit program. Credits will be earned once approved projects are completed and feedstock consumption begins.
Applications to the program closed April 22. Each application will be evaluated to ensure the proposed project is economically viable, meets Alberta’s strict environmental performance conditions, and demonstrates the best overall benefits to Alberta. A third-party monitor will ensure fairness and transparency by observing the evaluation process and providing independent assurance that the applications are evaluated in an open and impartial manner.
“The Resource Diversification Council applauds the government's decision to move forward with the Petrochemicals Diversification Program, which encourages industry investment in Alberta. This investment will help create world scale petrochemical plants, diversify our energy products and increase government revenues — while creating thousands of permanent high paying, skilled jobs in Alberta. By capturing greater value for our resources and securing a larger share of world markets, we have the opportunity to get Alberta off the roller coaster of commodity prices, and set the stage to be a major player in refined products that can be shipped all over the world.”
“New petrochemical facilities would represent a major opportunity for local manufacturers such as Cessco. One such facility could require over $20 million, and multiple years of work, for products we could build here. Being awarded that amount of work would dramatically change our outlook; we could switch from having to cut back to re-hiring and even expanding.”
New facilities resulting from this program are expected to create up to 3,000 new jobs during construction, as well as more than 1,000 jobs once operation begins, and result in between $3 billion and
$5 billion worth of investment.
Information about the Petrochemicals Diversification Program, including the competitive selection process, is available at www.energy.alberta.ca.