July 11, 2020 – The new Alberta Petrochemicals Incentive Program aims to bring multi-billion dollar investments to projects throughout the province; unlike previous government petrochemical programs, this one promises to “cut red tape and increase certainty and flexibility for investors”, thereby attracting more investment into the sector.
“While Alberta is already a Canadian leader in petrochemicals manufacturing, the sky is the limit for this sector’s benefits to our province,” said Dale Nally, Associate Minister of Natural Gas and Electricity. “With our affordable 300-year supply of natural gas, technically skilled and educated workforce, and respected innovation and research sectors, Alberta is ready to seize the opportunity to become a global destination for petrochemical manufacturing […]”
Key features of the new Alberta Petrochemicals Incentive Program include:
• A 10-year program period during which eligible projects must be built and operational.
• Adopting an open and transparent funding process, whereby every project that meets the program’s criteria will receive funding once built and operational. Government will no longer pick winners and losers through a private evaluation process.
• Instead of royalty credits, grants will be issued to companies after eligible projects are operational.
• Making funds available throughout the program’s duration once the facilities are in service, to align with business investment cycles.
The government says it will work with industry over the summer to finalize the program guidelines. More details about eligibility, process, governance and reporting requirements will be available when the program is officially launched in early fall.
“Government support is critical to level the playing field with other economic competitors that are aggressively courting investment, especially during these challenging times,” said David Chappell, board chair, Resource Diversification Council. “Other jurisdictions are doing all that they can to attract investment, and the RDC is encouraged to see Alberta sharpen its competitive focus to bring long-term benefit to Albertans.”