Alberta launches $500M incentive program for petrochemical sector growth

Alberta’s government is delivering a serious boost to its petrochemical industry. On Monday Margaret McCuaig-Boyd, Alberta’s Minister of Energy, revealed the launch of a $500 million subsidy program to encourage development of petrochemical production and processing facilities within the province.

Titled the Petrochemicals Diversification Program, the subsidy works by offering royalty credits to petrochemical facilities (selected through an application process available at Alberta Energy starting February 4) totaling $500 million. These royalty credits can then be traded or sold to producers of raw materials like oil and natural gas, who can in turn use credits toward their own royalty payments to the Alberta government.

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Through this strategy Alberta aims to attract investment from major names in the petrochemical industry, particularly investments into the development of value-add facilities to process raw materials like methane and propane for use in manufacturing plastics, textiles, and more. This will not only create jobs, but will also in turn help to build up Alberta’s infrastructure and economy.

“This program builds on the royalty review panel’s recommendation for a value-added natural gas strategy to support further upgrading and production of higher-value energy products in Alberta,” stated McCuaig-Boyd in a news release from Alberta Energy. “This is another way to diversify our energy economy and create good jobs in Alberta.”

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 “This program diversifies our economy through the attraction of new investment ‎and the creation of stable, sustainable jobs softening the current economic cycle we are experiencing,” added Ed Gibbons, Chair of Alberta’s Industrial Heartland, City of Edmonton Councillor. “We are very pleased that the Government of Alberta recognizes the importance of the petrochemical industry to Alberta’s economic future. We are looking forward to continued collaboration as we work with our government, industry and labour partners to solidify investment and begin construction on new facilities.”

Read more about the Petrochemical Diversification Program here.