Journal staff
NOVA Chemicals celebrated a milestone this month, marking the completion of construction at its billion-dollar Corunna Cracker Expansion and new polyethylene facility in St. Clair Township.
“We’re pleased to have completed the construction phase of the projects and our team is now fully focused on safely completing post-construction activities prior to starting the commissioning phase of this flagship asset,” said Rob Thompson, NOVA Chemicals’ vice president, manufacturing east. “This has been a tremendous effort across the organization.
“During unprecedented conditions, everyone involved has worked diligently to bring our vision to reality and we look forward to celebrating the startup of the Rokeby Site with our stakeholders in 2023.”
The news marks the ‘mechanical completion’ of what’s known as NOVA’s second Advanced ‘SCLAIRTECH’ technology (AST2) facility, and the third phase of the Corunna Cracker Expansion Project.
The world-scale AST2 facility, located at the new Rokeby Site, will have a production capacity of approximately one-billion pounds of polyethylene per year. The Cracker Expansion will provide ethylene feedstock to the new AST2 facility, expanding the existing cracker’s current capacity by more than 50 per cent.
Both projects represent a significant investment bringing new technology, jobs and long-term economic viability to the region, the company noted in a news release.
Since the growth projects began in late 2017, NOVA has added approximately $2 billion to the provincial economy and over 7,000 workers were involved in construction.
NOVA Chemicals is the largest private employer in the Sarnia-Lambton region with three manufacturing facilities and one corporate office currently operating in the area.
Once the growth projects are fully commissioned and complete, an estimated 150 permanent full-time jobs will be added between direct hires and contractors at both facilities.
Post-construction commissioning activities at the Rokeby Site are fully underway with several onsite unit operations in the startup phase.