As reported by CBC news, the $4.3B Heartland Petrochemical Complex - 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.
Originally, the amount of direct and indirect jobs created for Canadians over the four-year construction period was said to top 13,000, and (they) expect to hire over 200 full-time positions from now until construction completes in late 2021.
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 range of positions are diverse and includes operations and maintenance staff; supply chain, health and safety, integrity and engineering professionals as well as plant optimization, quality control and lab technicians.
The Heartland Petrochemical Complex is now expected to employ 300 people once fully operational.
Some of the companies listed with jobs available at the complex include PCL, Kiewit, Safety Boss, Avenge Energy Services & others.
Find a list of jobs with Hearland Petrochemical Complex here.
