Canada’s first petrochemical plant producing a base material used in many plastics and detergent has been officially launched in Joffre, just east of Red Deer.
The $400-million BP Canada Chemical Co. plant is designed to produce 250,000 tonnes of linear alpha olefin (LAOs) a year, a substance used in plastic pipe and bottles, film and drilling muds.
“The Joffre LAO plant is Canada’s first and only domestic producer of linear alpha olefins,” said Andrew Mackenzie, BP’s group vice-president for chemicals. “Close to 50 per cent of the product we produce will stay in Canada, helping to diversify and strengthen the Alberta petrochemical industry.”
The new BP plant is partnered with a neighbouring Nova Chemicals facility. The plant draws ethylene from the Nova facility, uses it to create LAOs and then sells it back to Nova to assist the company in the creation of polyethylene. Other customers will include Dow Chemical and Exxon Mobil.
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| Larry MacDougal, Business Edge |
Calgary-based BP Canada Energy Company is the largest full-value chain natural gas company in Canada, and an emerging supplier of electricity in Alberta. About 145 permanent employees will be based at the new plant.
