Imperial Oil and the Canadian Oil Seed Processors Association are building the largest renewable diesel facility in all of Canada, located in Strathcona County, Alberta. The project will transform canola and other seed oils into renewable diesel that is lower in emissions than conventional fuels.
00:00:00.000His presence continues to enrich our company and our community.
00:00:05.000I'm pleased to be the emcee at this morning's news conference, which is being led by Alberta's Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, R.J. Sigerson.
00:00:15.000We'll also hear from my colleague, Sherry Evers, who is Imperial's Senior Vice President over sustainability, commercial development and product solutions.
00:00:26.000Chris Verveit, the executive director of the Canadian Oil Seed Processors Association, is also here to provide his remarks.
00:00:35.000Before we get started, I'd also like to acknowledge the mayor of Strathcona County, Rod Frank, for coming out and hearing the news on this project.
00:00:44.000Mayor Frank has been an advocate for Imperial and this refinery, and we thank him for joining us today.
00:00:49.000today. Imperial has been part of Alberta's landscape for decades, with our mining operation
00:00:59.700in the Fort McMurray area, to our operations in Coal Lake, to this refinery here in Strathcona
00:01:05.460County. I'm very proud that this refinery has kept our customers and our communities
00:01:10.920moving for over 75 years by producing and supplying the vital energy products that society
00:01:17.600needs like motor gasoline diesel jet fuel and asphalt we are committed to fueling the future
00:01:25.760by continuing to produce these traditional energy products while also evolving our operation and
00:01:33.200making strategic investments that are setting ourselves up for a lower emission future
00:01:39.760our renewable diesel project is the centerpiece of that suite of lower emission investments
00:01:46.000We will start producing renewable diesel right here at the Strathcona Refinery next year,
00:01:51.040and it will be the largest renewable diesel facility in all of Canada.
00:01:56.440It's rewarding to know that we are making a difference by reducing our environmental footprint
00:02:01.460and contributing to a cleaner energy future for our employees, our neighbors, and our communities.
00:02:09.280We have an absolutely incredible team of people who have been working very hard to bring this
00:02:14.320project to life. And I am so proud just to be part of the team with them. I'd now like to invite the
00:02:20.240minister to come and share news about Alberta's support for this very important project. Thank you.
00:02:34.000Well, good morning, everyone. And thank you, Damien, for welcoming us to your site
00:02:40.240for this incredible announcement today i'm pleased that you sherry and chris are joining us today
00:02:47.200and as well mayor frank for being on site as he continues to be such a huge advocate for his area
00:02:54.400now first of all i'd like to say congratulations to the strathcona refinery on achieving 75 years
00:03:01.520in operation which is amazing and our government recognizes the positive impact imperial has had
00:03:07.440on the province's economy over the past years you are an industry leader applying technology and
00:03:13.760innovating to develop energy resources in a responsible manner we understand global companies
00:03:19.600like yours have lots of options when it comes to business expansion and that's why we are doing what
00:03:25.840it takes to ensure alberta offers a welcoming business friendly climate we want to keep
00:03:32.080innovators like imperial here while attracting new businesses to expand the economic footprint
00:03:38.160within our borders here in alberta while alberta offers one of the most competitive business tax
00:03:43.680systems in north america we knew we could do more and that's why we introduced the agri-processing
00:03:49.680investment tax credit in the spring of 2023 this new tax credit is helping drive innovation and
00:03:56.240growth in the province's agri-food and bioprocessing industries by building on alberta's other
00:04:01.920competitive business and tax advantages that said i'm thrilled to announce that imperial has
00:04:08.240qualified for this program by building the largest renewable diesel facility in canada and it's right
00:04:15.360here in the strathcona refinery now imperial 720 million dollar investment in this cutting edge
00:04:23.440capital project qualifies for alberta's agri-processing investment tax credit when the
00:04:30.000facility is fully operational it will transform canola and other seed oils into renewable diesel
00:04:37.280that is lower in emissions than conventional fuels to make this happen imperial will be sourcing
00:04:43.280most of its feedstock from canola producers right here in the province in the meantime construction
00:04:49.840is well underway and the project is creating about 600 direct construction jobs for albertans
00:04:56.160not only that imperial and the canola processors expect additional employment opportunities once
00:05:02.880the operation begins our government recognizes their business relationship will have invaluable
00:05:09.360economic spin-offs for alberta's oil seed sector as well we are pleased to know that imperial will
00:05:16.240be sourcing low carbon hydrogen for its operations from air products in edmonton using low carbon
00:05:23.360hydrogen to produce the lower emissions renewable diesel will help cut greenhouse gases as you can
00:05:29.840tell this project has multiple benefits for albertans but i will leave it to the experts
00:05:35.360that are here today to tell you more about that story looking ahead our government is excited to
00:05:41.200continue working with Imperial as they finalize this project. We also invite other agri-food and
00:05:48.000bioprocessing companies to check out our ag tax credit program. You can apply if you're planning
00:05:54.800to build or expand a value-added manufacturing project here in the province or if you've already
00:06:00.320got shovels in the ground. With incentives like the ag tax credit, our government is continuing
00:06:06.480to support Alberta producers and keep our province at the forefront of innovation.
00:06:12.420And I think this is such an incredible story, bringing agriculture and energy together.
00:06:36.480and thank you all for being here at Imperial Strathcona Refinery. As noted, we've been
00:06:41.520operation here for 76 years and it's going to be the future home of Canada's largest renewable
00:06:47.920diesel facility. So we're extremely excited about that. I'd like to thank Minister Sigurdsson for
00:06:52.720his comments and for the Alberta government for their support for this project through the Agri
00:06:57.680Processing Investment Tax Credit. This is an extremely important project for Imperial. It's
00:07:03.760the centerpiece of a suite of investments to help Canada meet its low carbon fuel standards
00:07:09.840and demonstrates our commitment to investing in projects and technologies that reduce greenhouse
00:07:15.520and gas emissions in our own operations but also importantly for our customers and for Canadians
00:07:21.760looking to achieve their sustainability goals. But the impact of this project extends far beyond
00:07:27.280Imperial. Hundreds of Albertans have already been directly supporting the construction of this
00:07:32.240facility and many others will be employed by our business partners and service providers
00:07:37.680local companies indigenous businesses and larger organizations with operations here
00:07:42.960in the province critical modules for the project were fabricated locally near the refinery
00:07:49.200and the thousands of valves that are needed for the project were sourced from indigenous owned
00:07:53.840business and so you can see amazing collaborations occurring for this project across the region
00:07:59.120When this facility starts up, Imperial will begin purchasing large volumes of plant oils,
00:08:05.220which will serve as the biofeed stock for this facility.
00:08:08.620This creates a new end-use stream for the agriculture industry and for the farmers across Western Canada.
00:08:15.760This is also an exciting connection for me personally.
00:08:18.660I grew up on a farm my entire life and have spent my entire career so far in the oil and gas industry.
00:08:24.220And when you can see that the agriculture and oil and gas industries, which have been part of the economic framework of this province for nearly a century, coming together to think about the future opportunities for how we can create low emission fuels for the province and for the country, it truly is an incredibly exciting and transformational opportunity for us for the future.
00:08:45.940At Imperial, we believe that collaboration is critical to achieving the companies, the province, Canada's net zero goals.
00:08:56.000The Renewable Diesel Project is bringing together Imperial, the Alberta government, customers, local, businesses, and the agriculture industry in meaningful ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
00:09:07.300I want to once again thank Minister Sigurdsson and the Alberta government for their support and for being here today as we continue the construction progress of this important facility.
00:09:19.480I'd now like to invite Chris Ravit from the Canadian Oil Seeds Processors Association to leave a few remarks.
00:09:25.540thank you sherry and thank you to the alberta government and imperial for the invitation to
00:09:37.640participate in today's exciting announcement i'm pleased to be here representing the canadian
00:09:43.000oilseed processors association and the canola council of canada copa as we're known as or the
00:09:49.480ccc which is the canola council collectively represent all links of the value chain including
00:09:54.840canada's 43 000 canola growers exporters life science companies and the industry's 14 value
00:10:01.960added processing facilities spanning every province from alberta to quebec i would like to take a
00:10:08.600second to list the contributions of that canola industry makes to the province of alberta it is
00:10:14.840estimated to contribute about 8 billion a year to alberta's economy supporting 65 000 jobs in the
00:10:21.560province canola is alberta's highest value crop with farm cash receipts worth 3.9 billion in 2023
00:10:30.680in 2023 alberta produced almost 30 percent of canada's canola at 5.4 million tons there are
00:10:38.520four canola processing facilities in the province today representing a combined capacity to process
00:10:44.680more than half of the canola that is produced in alberta it's important to recognize the role of
00:10:50.520industry and government in the collaboration for achieving these contributions today's announcement
00:10:57.160is a shining example of continued collaboration that will help support growth in alberta's two
00:11:03.080key economic sectors energy and agriculture we are excited to see this investment being made
00:11:09.720in canola in in alberta's canola country local production of renewable fuels derived from
00:11:18.120locally grown canola provides an important market diversification opportunity right here in our
00:11:24.120own backyard that will benefit farmers processors and the entire value chain in the province of
00:11:30.920Alberta to put a finer point on this opportunity this facility represents demand for canola seed
00:11:39.400that could be as large as two and a half million metric tons per year that's the size of some of
00:11:45.160our largest export markets today this is value-added demand as seed will be processed locally
00:11:51.960supporting investments job creation and prices at the farm gate simply put a project of this
00:11:59.960magnitude is a game changer for our industry and a win-win for all parties involved on behalf of
00:12:07.480the canola industry i want to thank imperial and the government of alberta again for this opportunity
00:12:12.840and we look forward to further collaboration and a bright future of value creation
00:12:18.040with our partners in Alberta. Thank you very much.
00:12:27.880Thank you, Chris. This concludes the speaking portion of today's news conference.
00:12:31.960I'd now like to ask Jesse Rampton, the press secretary for the agriculture
00:12:37.320and irrigation committee to come forward and facilitate questions and answers. Thank you very