Ontarios’ Ministry of Economic Development and Growth will study the cost to build and operate a world-scale biochemical production plant and a world-scale polyethylene production plant and ethane cracker in Sarnia’s Chemical Valley compared to the U.S. Gulf Coast, Atlantic and Midwest regions, according to an article from The Observer. Sarnia, which is home to several refineries and chemical manufacturing sites, has reportedly been working to promote the area’s biochemical and petrochemical opportunities.
According to a Ministry spokesperson quoted in the article, “The study will provide valuable information to better understand the relative competitiveness of Sarnia, Ontario against key U.S. jurisdictions to support policy development for strengthening Ontario's chemicals cluster and attracting new bio-chemical and petrochemical manufacturing investments to the province.” BioAmber has reportedly built a new $141 million plant that turns corn into succinic acid in the area; Comet Biorefining is planning a new facility and Nova Chemicals is also exploring an expansion there. According to the article, the cost of electricity in Ontario compared to the U.S. is one of the issues that often comes up when considering the area.
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