NEW REFINERY FOR ALBERTA
First Nations join partnership
Two major Chinese companies and a group of Alberta Indigenous communities are proposing to build a new oilsands refinery and petrochemical complex in the province, according to consultants Stantec Inc.
Beijing-based and state-owned China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., better known as Sinopec, along with China Construction Industrial & Energy Co. Ltd. and a consortium of Alberta Indigenous groups signed an agreement with the Edmonton-based engineering and design firm Stantec Inc. on Thursday to pursue permits for a new bitumen refinery.
According to a Stantec news release, the partnership of Sinopec, China Construction and the Indigenous groups will be called SinoCan Global, which will begin seeking permits to build a 167,000-barrels-per-day bitumen refinery and petrochemical complex north of Edmonton.
If built, it would become the second-largest refinery in Alberta after Imperial Oil Ltd.’s 194,000bpd Strathcona Refinery in Edmonton.
“We are very excited to be working with SinoCan Global on this bitumen-based refinery and petrochemical facility,” Stantec CEO Gord Johnston said in the news release.
While Stantec will provide consulting and regulatory assistance, Sinopec and China Construction will provide “the expertise and investment needed to develop the facility.”
“Stantec Consulting Services has been selected to perform the regulatory review and permitting processes for the project,” according to the news release. “The global design firm will also leverage local relationships and engage in strong stakeholder relations to ensure SinoCan’s success in the Alberta marketplace.”
The news release did not include the investments required to build the refinery, but a project of that magnitude would range in the billions of dollars.
Details are scarce on which First Nations will be partners in the project with the two Chinese companies, but the release from Stantec indicates a group called Alberta First Nations Energy Development will own an equity stake in the project. Teedrum Inc., an Edmonton-based company, working in partnership with the Alberta First Nations Energy Centre, will lead the development.