Alberta has announced that it will double its incentives for companies developing new petrochemicals plants as the Canadian province takes action to diversify its economy beyond crude oil and gas.

The province will now provide royalty credits worth Can$2.1 billion for projects that convert ethane, methane and propane gases into more valuable products such as petrochemicals. Alberta had previously announced Can$500 million of support in March 2018, followed by another Can$600 million in November 2018.

Alberta said the increased investment follows strong interest in programs under the Energy Diversifications Act announced earlier in 2018. The province received 23 applications for petrochemical upgrading projects from Canadian and international companies, representing Can$60.2 billion of investment in its energy sector.

Margaret McCuaig-Boyd, Minister of Energy, said interest has far exceeded expectations. “It sends a clear signal that companies from around the world want to invest in Alberta. We need to put our foot on the gas pedal,” she said.

Once approved, the projects are expected to create up to Can$20.6 billion in new private investment, 15,500 good-paying construction jobs and 1,000 operations jobs as well as generating Can$284 million per year in corporate taxes for the province.

Alberta first launched its petrochemical incentives program in 2016, which resulted in two projects being approved and sharing up to Can$500 million in royalty credits. One of the projects was Inter Pipeline’s Can$3.5 billion Heartland petrochemicals complex being built in Strathcona County. The complex will convert locally sourced propane into 525,000 t/y PP. Construction is underway, and completion is scheduled for late 2021.

A final decision on the second project, Canada Kuwait Petrochemical’s proposed propane dehydrogenation/PP facility, is expected in the coming months. Founded in 2017, Canada Kuwait Petrochemical is a joint venture between Canadian gas group Pembina Pipeline and Kuwait’s Petrochemical Industries Company.