The government of Alberta last week announced it would offer up to CAN$500 million (US$357 million) in subsidies for new petrochemical plants built in the province.
The program would offer royalty credits to petrochemical producers that could be sold or traded to oil and gas producers. The credits would not become available until a new petrochemical facility is up and running.
Alberta officials hope the program will help diversify its economy beyond oil and natural gas extraction, which have suffered amid the global oil price collapse. It is intended to attract new, multibillion-dollar petrochemical facilities that would tap Alberta’s rich methane and propane resources to produce chemicals used in the manufacture of plastics, textiles and other products.
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