The government of Alberta is increasing its financial incentives for investment in petrochemical development based on oil and gas produced in the province.
It is expanding its March commitment of as much as $1 billion (Can.) in royalty credits and loan guarantees to attract petrochemical investment and expand infrastructure for petrochemical feedstocks (OGJ Online, Mar. 13, 2018).
That round of incentives added to $1 billion the province announced in February to support partial upgrading of bitumen.
The new move adds $600 million in future royalty credits to the $500 million offered in the March commitment. The other $500 million in the March announcement was for loan guarantees.
In an earlier program, Alberta in 2016 committed $500 million in royalty credits for petrochemical projects.
Under both programs, the government has received 23 applications for investments potentially exceeding $60 billion.
“We’re fighting for Albertans to make sure we get every dollar of value for the oil and gas resources that belong to them, Premier Rachel Notley said in a statement. “For decades, we’ve been settling for less while seeing new jobs and investment go south of the border. The time is now to think big, take action and finally upgrade more of our energy at home.”
