Nova surpasses 65 per cent completion of growth projects in Ontario
Canadian Plastics
Canadian Plastics Construction MaterialsEarly equipment has been put in service, and start-up will commence in late 2022.
Photo Credit: Nova Chemicals Corp.
Construction on chemicals and resins maker Nova Chemicals Corp.’s second Advanced Sclairtech technology (AST) unit and the third phase of its Corunna, Ont. cracker expansion project have each surpassed 65 per cent completion, the Calgary-based company says.
“The first of eight electrical substations were safely energized in March, and [we] estimate that both projects will commence full start-up activities in late 2022, after the Corunna site turnaround which is targeted for spring 2022,” company officials said in an April 12 news release.
The new AST polyethylene unit, located at the new Rokeby site in St. Clair Township, Ont., will have a capacity of approximately one billion pounds per year. The cracker expansion will provide ethylene feedstock to the new AST facility, Nova said, expanding the existing unit’s current capacity by more than 50 per cent.
“The combined investment of approximately $2.5 billion (CAD) brings cutting edge technology, high-paying jobs, and long-term viability to the region,” Nova said. “Since the growth projects began in late 2017, [we have] added approximately $1.1 billion (CAD) to the provincial economy in labour and materials.”
Currently, there are three Nova manufacturing facilities and one corporate office in the Sarnia-Lambton region of Ontario. The Corunna site produces 1.8 billion pounds of ethylene and about 250 million pounds of co-products annually. Corunna provides feedstock to the Moore site and St. Clair River sites, which convert the ethylene into 1.38 billion pounds of polyethylene. Ethane, a component of natural gas, is the primary feedstock for ethylene production at Corunna site.
