Alberta is working to encourage construction of a $2 billion partial-upgrading facility that would turn more of the province’s sludgy bitumen into higher-value products.
The facility, designed by Calgary-based Value Creation Inc., would be located near Edmonton and process 77,500 barrels of diluted bitumen a day into products like medium synthetic crude and ultra-low sulfur diesel. The province is offering a $440 million loan guarantee to help build the project, which is seeking additional financing as it works toward a final investment decision this year.
The loan guarantee is part of about $3 billion Alberta plans to invest to spur the construction of refineries, upgraders and petrochemical facilities to reap more of the value from the province’s oil reserves. The plan also is aimed at helping alleviate the pipeline bottlenecks that have hammered local crude prices and last year prompted Premier Rachel Notley to mandate a province-wide oil production cut to boost prices.
“We have to get off the rollercoaster,” Notley said at a press conference in Calgary, adding that the Value Creation facility would add 2,000 jobs. “We have to make our economy more resilient.”
Notley said the province is working on $20 billion in projects to help add value to Alberta’s crude.
Bloomberg.com
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