First test production of plastic pellets a milestone for Heartland Petrochemical Complex

The Heartland polypropylene plant in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., is shown in this undated handout photo. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Inter Pipeline)

CALGARY -

The $4.3-billion Heartland Petrochemical Complex, which has been under construction northeast of Edmonton since 2018, has produced its first plastic pellets.

Owner and operator Inter Pipeline Ltd. said Tuesday the newly commissioned facility has been producing test pellets steadily since late June, an important milestone en route to the expected start of full commercial operation sometime this fall.

The Heartland Petrochemical Complex will convert Alberta propane into 525,000 tonnes per year of polypropylene beads, an easily transported form of plastic that is used in the manufacturing of a wide range of finished products. 

Steven Noble, spokesman for Calgary-based Inter Pipeline, said the facility will be the first integrated propane dehydrogenation and polypropylene production facility in North America. He said approximately 70 per cent of Heartland's total production capacity has been already contracted out to long-term customers.

"Through the duration of the project's construction, we've seen demand for polypropylene increase significantly ... including at one point hitting an all-time record (market price)," Noble said in an interview. "The demand that we initially forecast certainly hasn't gone away."

The Heartland facility is being built with the support of a $408-million grant from Alberta's provincial government. The cash grant, part of an incentive program aimed at growing the province's petrochemicals sector, is to be paid to Inter Pipeline in equal instalments over three years once the complex is operational.

Noble said by creating a new market for propane, the Heartland facility is an example of how natural resource development in Alberta is diversifying.

"The fact that we're now looking at our raw resources in a different way, and figuring out different ways to get value out of them and create other refined products right here at home ... is really the part of the story that everyone here is excited about," he said.

The Heartland Petrochemical Complex is expected to employ 300 people once fully operational.

The polypropylene produced at the facility will be branded as Heartland Polymers.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5, 2022.