Ottawa, July 21, 2009

 The Canadian Chemical Producers’ Association (CCPA) is pleased to see Alberta take the next step to implement its bitumen in kind program. CCPA supports the Alberta government’s efforts to maximize the value of resources for Albertans through a portfolio approach that will see 1/3 of bitumen upgraded, 1/3 refined, and 1/3 sold directly.

“We recognize the challenges of implementing this vision,” said Richard Paton, President of CCPA. “But a firm commitment to upgrading bitumen here in Canada is a step towards what we hope will be a sufficient series of projects that in the aggregate will represent world scale feedstock opportunities for the petrochemical industry,” he added.

The petrochemical sector in Alberta is a significant part of the Alberta economy, worth $13.3 billion per year. Chemical producers are looking to the upgrading of bitumen as an opportunity to provide valuable feedstock for existing chemical facilities as well as potential new investments.

By upgrading bitumen, the petrochemical industry can produce products of up to 10 to 40 times the value of the natural resource. This contributes to diversification of the Alberta economy, creates skilled jobs for today and tomorrow and generates wealth for Albertans and Canadians.

CCPA is the voice of the Canadian chemical industry, which is the fifth largest of all manufacturing sectors in sales in Canada and the third largest exporter of manufactured goods.

For more information  contact:

Julien Lavoie, CCPA Public Affairs 613-237-6215 x 239