Petromont suspends operations in Quebec

Petrochemical supplier Petromont & Co. LP will cease polyethylene and ethylene production in Quebec on April 30 and lay off 300 employees in the Montreal area.

“This difficult context is the result of several factors, including the strong Canadian dollar and persistent difficulty in obtaining petroleum-based feedstock at competitive prices,” the company said. “These factors have had a major impact on [our] profitability, and in light of the equally unfavourable conditions affecting the petrochemical sector across North America, Petromont has no choice but to suspend its operations.”

The company is co-owned by Dow Chemical Canada and the investment arm of the Quebec government, The Societe generale de financement du Quebec.

The Petromont venture reports average annual sales of $750 million. It operates two plants in the Montreal region. The first, in Varennes, manufactures basic petrochemicals, while the plant in Montreal East produces polyethylene resins sold mainly on the North Americanmarkets. The petrochemical facilities will be maintained in the event that themarket conditions change or an expression of outside interest is received, the company said.