Startup of new Sarnia-area Nova Chemicals plant expected soon

Nova Chemicals’ new Rokeby manufacturing site near Sarnia is ready to begin producing polyethylene plastic, just as soon as unexpected repairs are completed at the neighboring Nova Corunna site.

The Corunna plant manufactures ethylene from natural gas liquids that is used to make polyethylene plastic at Nova’s St. Clair River and Mooretown sites and soon, at its newest plant on Rokeby Line. All four plants are in St. Clair Township, next door to Sarnia.

Rob Thompson, Nova’s vice-president of manufacturing east, gave an update Tuesday to members of the Sarnia-Lambton Golden K Kiwanis Club about the company’s $2.5-billion project to build the new plant and expand the capacity of its Corunna site.

At the time it was announced, the project was the “largest private-sector greenfield investment in this province in over 35 years,” he said.

“It’s just a massive investment” in “a world-class facility that we’ve built in this community,” Thompson said.

Construction began in 2017 and was completed in late 2022, following by commissioning of the new polyethylene manufacturing plant.

“We have all the equipment online and we are preparing for starting the Rokeby facility,” Thompson said. “Unfortunately, our Corunna site – the ethylene cracker – has an unplanned outage right now, so we’re down for some repairs.”

The new Rokeby site can’t start until the Corunna site is back online and supplying it with ethylene, Thompson said.

“Everything is built,” he said. “We’ve commissioned all the equipment on site, and we’ve been doing that over the last three months. We’re really happy with the progress. We just need to get the feedstock there.”

The new Rokeby plant added about 140 full-time jobs, taking the total number of Nova Chemical employees at its four plants and corporate offices in the Sarnia area to 1,150, making it the community’s largest private-sector employer, Thompson said.

The new plant will also have about 30 “resident” contractors working at the site, he said.

There are currently nearly 700 contractors at Nova sites in the Sarnia, more than the typical number of 300 to 400, Thompson said.

As well as the unexpected shutdown at the Corunna site, the company is carrying out a scheduled maintenance turnaround at its St. Clair River polyethylene site.

Thompson said the company is spending about $30 million during the maintenance turnaround with 300 contractors at the site.

“That is underway and off to a really good start,” and it’s hoped the plant will be back up during the first week of October, he said.

Nova’s Sarnia operations have “flipped the tables on our American cousins” by shipping in natural gas liquids from Pennsylvania and Ohio by pipeline, Thompson said.

“We’re taking their raw materials. . . and upgrading it and selling it back to them,” he said.

Along with its history of petrochemical production, Sarnia is “strategically located” within a one-day’s drive of 70 per cent of North America’s polyethylene market, Thompson said.

Thompson spoke about Nova’s plans for the coming years, including its goal to have recycled polyethylene make up 30 per cent of its sales by 2030.

The company announced this year it’s developing a mechanical recycling facility in Indiana and exploring the feasibility of developing a recycling project for Sarnia.

Nova also has pledged to reduce emissions by 30 per cent and become a Top 30 employer in Canada during the same period, he said.

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