Heartland petrochemical complex, northeast of Edmonton, produces first plastic granules | Globalnews.ca

The $4.3 billion Heartland Petrochemical Complex, which has been under construction northeast of Edmonton since 2018, has produced its first plastic pellets.

Owner-operator Inter Pipeline Ltd. said Tuesday that the new facility has been producing test pellets steadily since the end of June, a major milestone on the way to the expected start of full commercial operation sometime this fall. .

The Heartland Petrochemical Complex will convert Alberta’s propane into 525,000 tons per year of polypropylene beads, an easily transportable form of plastic used in the manufacture of a wide range of finished products.

Steven Noble, a spokesman for Calgary-based Inter Pipeline, said the facility will be the first integrated propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene production facility in North America. He said that about 70 percent of Heartland’s total production capacity has already been outsourced to long-term customers.

“Throughout the duration of the project’s construction, we have seen a significant increase in demand for polypropylene … even at one point reaching an all-time high (market price),” Noble said in an interview. “The demand that we initially forecast has certainly not disappeared.”

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Major petrochemical investment announced in Alberta

The Heartland facility is being built with the support of a $408 million grant from the Alberta provincial government. The cash donation, part of an incentive program aimed at growing the province’s petrochemical sector, will be paid to Inter Pipeline in equal installments over three years once the complex is operational.

Noble said that by creating a new market for propane, the Heartland facility is an example of how Alberta’s natural resource development is diversifying.

“The fact that we’re now looking at our raw resources in a different way, and discovering different ways to get value out of them and create other refined products right here at home… that’s really the part of the story that everyone here is excited about. “, said.

The Heartland Petrochemical Complex is expected to employ 300 people once it is fully operational.

The polypropylene produced at the facility will be branded as Heartland Polymers.