From www.theobserver.ca The Observer
Nova Chemicals announced this week it has signed a memorandum of understanding for a long-term supply of ethane from the Marcellus shale basin for its Corunna plant.
The memorandum, with Statoil Marketing and Trading Inc., is subject to Nova finalizing an agreement with the supplier and concluding a pipeline transportation agreement to carry the ethane to Chemical Valley.
Randy Woelfel, Nova’s chief executive officer, said in a press release that the arrangement with Statoil “will help to diversity our supply base for our Corunna cracker revamp project and support our growth plans in the future.”
Earlier this summer, Nova announced it’s exploring building a new world-scale polyethylene plant in Sarnia-Lambton by 2017. The company also said detailed engineering and field tie-in preparation work is progressing at its olefins cracker in Corunna.
The company’s goal is to reach full natural gas liquids feed capacity by the end of 2013.
Woeflel has said work at Nova’s Corunna facility to take advantage of natural gas liquids feedstock from the Marcellus shale basin, located in and around Pennsylvania, could be completed for less than $250 million.
It’s expected to give the company a more affordable supply of raw material to make ethylene, which Nova uses at its other plant sites in Sarnia-Lambton to make polyethylene used in consumer products like shrink wrap, trash cans and automotive parts.
“New feedstock opportunities are truly game changers for us and they provide the opportunity to fully utilize our assets,” local Nova spokesperson Rob Thompson has said.
Engineering and feasibility studies on a potential new polyethylene plant in Sarnia-Lambton are expected to be completed by mid-2012, the company has said.
The company is also studying making improvements to its Mooretown plant.
Nova Chemicals has three plant sites in Sarnia-Lambton that employ about 900 people.