MOSCOW (MRC) -- Nova Chemicals Corp. is making substantial reductions in its construction activities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Kemicalinfo.
"We are adjusting construction work on our new AST2 polyethylene facility and Corunna cracker expansion projects in Ontario to temporarily focus on only the most critical work, which will result in a reduction of approximately 90% of our total construction workforce," Nova Chemicals CEO Todd Karran said.
Karran said that the company’s commissioning and construction activities have been suspended on its furnace refurbishment project in Alberta.
"It is too early to say what impact COVID-19 will have on our overall construction schedule, and a phased ramp-up will be considered at the appropriate time to allow for the safe completion of construction activities," he added.
Nova Chemicals’ manufacturing sites remain operational and product delivery has not been impacted currently by the pandemic.
Chemical industry has been listed as essential critical infrastructure in the US and an important place of work in Canada.
"Despite borders being closed to the north and south, we do not anticipate any issues with cross-border shipments at this time as trade is considered critical and distribution/supply chains in North America are open," Karran said.
"We have adjusted polyethylene and expandable polystyrene production to provide sufficient supply of resins for food packaging, medical supplies, and other high-demand goods," he added.
As MRC reported earlier, in January 2017, NOVA Chemicals announced the start up of its new world-scale linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) gas phase reactor at its Joffre, Alberta site.
Besides, NOVA Chemicals expanded ethylene production capacity by 20% at its cracker in Corunna, Ontario from the previous capacity of about 839,000 tpy. The expansion occurred between 2014 and 2018 and was part of a wave of expansions and upgrades to NOVA's existing facilities near Sarnia, Ontario. Other upgrades in the plan included a debottlenecking of the Moore low-density polyethylene (LDPE) line and a retrofit of the Moore high-density polyethylene (HDPE) line.
Ethylene and propylene are feedstocks for producing polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP).
According to MRC's ScanPlast report, Russia's estimated PE consumption totalled 383,760 tonnes in the first two month of 2020, up by 14% year on year. High density polyethylene (HDPE) and linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) shipments increased due to the increased capacity utilisation at ZapSibNeftekhim. At the same time, PP shipments to the Russian market were 192,760 tonnes in January-February 2020, down by 6% year on year. Homopolymer PP accounted for the main decrease in imports.
NOVA Chemicals Corporation is a plastics and chemical company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is wholly-owned ultimately by Mubadala Investment Company of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
MRC