A new organization has formed in Alberta, Canada, with the aim of attracting refinery and petrochemical investment to boost local processing of the province’s oil and gas.
Industry, employer and labor association leaders have joined forces to create the Resource Diversification Council (RDC), a non-profit association that will seek to work with government and other stakeholders to advance diversification of the energy industry. Its goal is to add further value to Alberta’s abundant feedstocks.
The organization plans to establish a target to increase today’s level of petrochemical processing and the level of hydrocarbon refining by 2030.
“Our diverse council members have come together because they share in a common purpose: building the value added resource sector to provide stable jobs and a place for Alberta’s future workforce to grow and prosper,” said Naushad Jamani, RDC chair and senior vice president of Olefins and Feedstock at NOVA Chemicals. “By further diversifying our energy industry, capturing greater value for our resources and securing a larger share of world markets, we have an opportunity to help Alberta get off the roller coaster of commodity prices and set the stage to be a major player in refined products that can be shipped all over the world.”
RDC members include Agrium, Keyera, NOVA Chemicals, NW Refining, Williams Energy Canada, the Building Trades of Alberta, Coordinating Committee of Registered Employers’ Organizations (Construction Labour Relations Alberta and the Electrical and Boilermaker Contractors Associations of Alberta) and Stantec.
