Western Canada is Hot Spot for Refining Projects

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE:RDS.A) (The Hague, Netherlands) last week announced the completion of a major hydrocracker debottlenecking project at its Scotford Refinery near Edmonton, Alberta. According to a Shell press release, the project will equate to a 14,000-barrel-per-day (BBL/d) increase in the unit's production. Industrial Info is tracking 105 active Refining projects in Western Canada with a combined total investment value of $25.5 billion.

Shell began the project in the first quarter of 2015. The project involved replacing vessels, compressors and feed pumps to allow a greater volume of heavy crude to be processed to make transportation fuels, such as diesel and jet fuel. "The completion of this upgrade will enhance the performance and competitiveness of Scotford's integrated operations, which helps secure our position as an industry leader in this important region," said Lori Ryerkerk, executive vice president for Shell's global manufacturing business in the company's press release. The project had an estimated total investment of $400 million.

Other major refining projects Industrial Info is tracking in the Western Canada region include North West Redwater Partnership's (Calgary, Alberta) construction of a crude and vacuum unit, hydrocracker and gas oil hydrotreater/combo unit addition at the company's Sturgeon Refinery in Redwater, Alberta. Construction began in mid-2013 and marks the first part of an overall three-phase, $8 billion bitumen upgrader project. The first phase of the project is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of next year. A second and third phase of the project remain in the early planning stages, with the second phase, which would increase upgrader capacity by 50,000 BBL/d, tentatively planned to kick off in late 2018.

Pacific Future Energy Corporation (Vancouver, British Columbia) is gearing up to construct an $11 billion grassroot refinery in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. The project is set to kick off in late 2018 and entails the construction of hydrotreaters and hydrocrackers, as well as a carbon capture and storage plant addition.

In addition to these blockbuster projects, Industrial Info is also tracking 43 planned maintenance projects in Western Canada with a total investment value of $329.5 million. Examples include Canadian Natural Resources Limited's (NYSE:CNQ) (Calgary) planned maintenance on various units of its Horizon oil sands upgrader near Fort McMurray, Alberta. The company will perform maintenance on the delayed coker unit, diluent recovery unit and sulfur recovery complex, among others, in the third quarter of 2017.

Information on these and other projects can be found in Industrial Info's Global Refining Platform, which covers both capital and maintenance projects around the world.

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