Consumables
NOVA Chemicals Officially Begins Alberta Polyethylene Expansion Project
Wednesday 12. June 2013 - NOVA Chemicals Corporation ("NOVA Chemicals") held a ground-breaking celebration on Friday, June 7, 2013 to celebrate a growth milestone at its Joffre, Alberta complex. This event marked the official start of the construction phase of the Polyethylene 1 ("PE1") Expansion Project - a key component of the NOVA 2020 growth strategy of adding value to emerging cost-competitive feedstocks and to support growing North American polyethylene demand.
The PE1 Expansion Project at the Joffre, Alberta Site will include a world-scale polyethylene reactor (R3) and associated infrastructure. The project is designed to produce between 950 and 1,100 million pounds per year of
linear-low density polyethylene (“LLDPE”), enabling the company to increase polyethylene production at the site by approximately 40% to meet growing customer needs.
The project is expected to be commissioned in the fall of 2015 and is expected to cost approximately $1 billion including capital and startup costs.
NOVA Chemicals CEO, Randy Woelfel
“As we commemorate this moment, we are grateful for the support we have received from many groups – including our community neighbors, the supportive Municipal, Alberta and Canadian Federal Governments, our employees and many others that continue to help NOVA Chemicals to add value to Alberta’s natural resources in the form of polyethylene.”
“We are proud to launch construction for what is expected to be the first new LLDPE plant to start up in over a decade in the U.S. and Canada. This is a milestone in our NOVA 2020 journey and a big step in moving forward with our commitment to leadership in the markets we serve.”
NOVA Chemicals Senior Vice President, Polyethylene, Chris Bezaire
“Adding more capacity will allow us to take full advantage of the most current technology available and, in many cases, produce new and better products. With more capacity and better products, we believe NOVA Chemicals will be in a strong position to continue to help our customers succeed in their markets – and we very much see this as a win-win opportunity.”
Alberta Energy Minister, Honourable Ken Hughes
“I would like to congratulate NOVA Chemicals on their $1 billion expansion of Joffre’s polyethylene 1 facility. We recognize the need to optimize the value of our portfolio of energy products and this expansion is a perfect example of the world-class hydrocarbon upgrading cluster that we have right here in Alberta.”