Western Standard - Tax Credits Transform Alberta's Bioprocessing Landscape.

00:00:00.000 His presence continues to enrich our company and our community.

00:00:05.000 I'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.

00:00:15.000 We'll also hear from my colleague, Sherry Evers, who is Imperial's Senior Vice President over sustainability, commercial development and product solutions.

00:00:26.000 Chris Verveit, the executive director of the Canadian Oil Seed Processors Association, is also here to provide his remarks.

00:00:35.000 Before 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.

00:00:44.000 Mayor Frank has been an advocate for Imperial and this refinery, and we thank him for joining us today.

00:00:49.000 today. Imperial has been part of Alberta's landscape for decades, with our mining operation

00:00:59.700 in the Fort McMurray area, to our operations in Coal Lake, to this refinery here in Strathcona

00:01:05.460 County. I'm very proud that this refinery has kept our customers and our communities

00:01:10.920 moving for over 75 years by producing and supplying the vital energy products that society

00:01:17.600 needs like motor gasoline diesel jet fuel and asphalt we are committed to fueling the future

00:01:25.760 by continuing to produce these traditional energy products while also evolving our operation and

00:01:33.200 making strategic investments that are setting ourselves up for a lower emission future

00:01:39.760 our renewable diesel project is the centerpiece of that suite of lower emission investments

00:01:46.000 We will start producing renewable diesel right here at the Strathcona Refinery next year,

00:01:51.040 and it will be the largest renewable diesel facility in all of Canada.

00:01:56.440 It's rewarding to know that we are making a difference by reducing our environmental footprint

00:02:01.460 and contributing to a cleaner energy future for our employees, our neighbors, and our communities.

00:02:09.280 We have an absolutely incredible team of people who have been working very hard to bring this

00:02:14.320 project to life. And I am so proud just to be part of the team with them. I'd now like to invite the

00:02:20.240 minister to come and share news about Alberta's support for this very important project. Thank you.

00:02:34.000 Well, good morning, everyone. And thank you, Damien, for welcoming us to your site

00:02:40.240 for this incredible announcement today i'm pleased that you sherry and chris are joining us today

00:02:47.200 and as well mayor frank for being on site as he continues to be such a huge advocate for his area

00:02:54.400 now first of all i'd like to say congratulations to the strathcona refinery on achieving 75 years

00:03:01.520 in operation which is amazing and our government recognizes the positive impact imperial has had

00:03:07.440 on the province's economy over the past years you are an industry leader applying technology and

00:03:13.760 innovating to develop energy resources in a responsible manner we understand global companies

00:03:19.600 like yours have lots of options when it comes to business expansion and that's why we are doing what

00:03:25.840 it takes to ensure alberta offers a welcoming business friendly climate we want to keep

00:03:32.080 innovators like imperial here while attracting new businesses to expand the economic footprint

00:03:38.160 within our borders here in alberta while alberta offers one of the most competitive business tax

00:03:43.680 systems in north america we knew we could do more and that's why we introduced the agri-processing

00:03:49.680 investment tax credit in the spring of 2023 this new tax credit is helping drive innovation and

00:03:56.240 growth in the province's agri-food and bioprocessing industries by building on alberta's other

00:04:01.920 competitive business and tax advantages that said i'm thrilled to announce that imperial has

00:04:08.240 qualified for this program by building the largest renewable diesel facility in canada and it's right

00:04:15.360 here in the strathcona refinery now imperial 720 million dollar investment in this cutting edge

00:04:23.440 capital project qualifies for alberta's agri-processing investment tax credit when the

00:04:30.000 facility is fully operational it will transform canola and other seed oils into renewable diesel

00:04:37.280 that is lower in emissions than conventional fuels to make this happen imperial will be sourcing

00:04:43.280 most of its feedstock from canola producers right here in the province in the meantime construction

00:04:49.840 is well underway and the project is creating about 600 direct construction jobs for albertans

00:04:56.160 not only that imperial and the canola processors expect additional employment opportunities once

00:05:02.880 the operation begins our government recognizes their business relationship will have invaluable

00:05:09.360 economic spin-offs for alberta's oil seed sector as well we are pleased to know that imperial will

00:05:16.240 be sourcing low carbon hydrogen for its operations from air products in edmonton using low carbon

00:05:23.360 hydrogen to produce the lower emissions renewable diesel will help cut greenhouse gases as you can

00:05:29.840 tell this project has multiple benefits for albertans but i will leave it to the experts

00:05:35.360 that are here today to tell you more about that story looking ahead our government is excited to

00:05:41.200 continue working with Imperial as they finalize this project. We also invite other agri-food and

00:05:48.000 bioprocessing companies to check out our ag tax credit program. You can apply if you're planning

00:05:54.800 to build or expand a value-added manufacturing project here in the province or if you've already

00:06:00.320 got shovels in the ground. With incentives like the ag tax credit, our government is continuing

00:06:06.480 to support Alberta producers and keep our province at the forefront of innovation.

00:06:12.420 And I think this is such an incredible story, bringing agriculture and energy together.

00:06:19.140 So very exciting news.

00:06:20.480 I will now pass it off to Sherry Evers, the Senior Vice President of Sustainability,

00:06:26.000 Commercial Development and Product Solutions.

00:06:34.520 All right.

00:06:35.880 Good morning.

00:06:36.480 and thank you all for being here at Imperial Strathcona Refinery. As noted, we've been

00:06:41.520 operation here for 76 years and it's going to be the future home of Canada's largest renewable

00:06:47.920 diesel facility. So we're extremely excited about that. I'd like to thank Minister Sigurdsson for

00:06:52.720 his comments and for the Alberta government for their support for this project through the Agri

00:06:57.680 Processing Investment Tax Credit. This is an extremely important project for Imperial. It's

00:07:03.760 the centerpiece of a suite of investments to help Canada meet its low carbon fuel standards

00:07:09.840 and demonstrates our commitment to investing in projects and technologies that reduce greenhouse

00:07:15.520 and gas emissions in our own operations but also importantly for our customers and for Canadians

00:07:21.760 looking to achieve their sustainability goals. But the impact of this project extends far beyond

00:07:27.280 Imperial. Hundreds of Albertans have already been directly supporting the construction of this

00:07:32.240 facility and many others will be employed by our business partners and service providers

00:07:37.680 local companies indigenous businesses and larger organizations with operations here

00:07:42.960 in the province critical modules for the project were fabricated locally near the refinery

00:07:49.200 and the thousands of valves that are needed for the project were sourced from indigenous owned

00:07:53.840 business and so you can see amazing collaborations occurring for this project across the region

00:07:59.120 When this facility starts up, Imperial will begin purchasing large volumes of plant oils,

00:08:05.220 which will serve as the biofeed stock for this facility.

00:08:08.620 This creates a new end-use stream for the agriculture industry and for the farmers across Western Canada.

00:08:15.760 This is also an exciting connection for me personally.

00:08:18.660 I grew up on a farm my entire life and have spent my entire career so far in the oil and gas industry.

00:08:24.220 And 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.

00:08:45.940 At Imperial, we believe that collaboration is critical to achieving the companies, the province, Canada's net zero goals.

00:08:56.000 The 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.

00:09:07.300 I 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.

00:09:19.480 I'd now like to invite Chris Ravit from the Canadian Oil Seeds Processors Association to leave a few remarks.

00:09:25.540 thank you sherry and thank you to the alberta government and imperial for the invitation to

00:09:37.640 participate in today's exciting announcement i'm pleased to be here representing the canadian

00:09:43.000 oilseed processors association and the canola council of canada copa as we're known as or the

00:09:49.480 ccc which is the canola council collectively represent all links of the value chain including

00:09:54.840 canada's 43 000 canola growers exporters life science companies and the industry's 14 value

00:10:01.960 added processing facilities spanning every province from alberta to quebec i would like to take a

00:10:08.600 second to list the contributions of that canola industry makes to the province of alberta it is

00:10:14.840 estimated to contribute about 8 billion a year to alberta's economy supporting 65 000 jobs in the

00:10:21.560 province canola is alberta's highest value crop with farm cash receipts worth 3.9 billion in 2023

00:10:30.680 in 2023 alberta produced almost 30 percent of canada's canola at 5.4 million tons there are

00:10:38.520 four canola processing facilities in the province today representing a combined capacity to process

00:10:44.680 more than half of the canola that is produced in alberta it's important to recognize the role of

00:10:50.520 industry and government in the collaboration for achieving these contributions today's announcement

00:10:57.160 is a shining example of continued collaboration that will help support growth in alberta's two

00:11:03.080 key economic sectors energy and agriculture we are excited to see this investment being made

00:11:09.720 in canola in in alberta's canola country local production of renewable fuels derived from

00:11:18.120 locally grown canola provides an important market diversification opportunity right here in our

00:11:24.120 own backyard that will benefit farmers processors and the entire value chain in the province of

00:11:30.920 Alberta to put a finer point on this opportunity this facility represents demand for canola seed

00:11:39.400 that could be as large as two and a half million metric tons per year that's the size of some of

00:11:45.160 our largest export markets today this is value-added demand as seed will be processed locally

00:11:51.960 supporting investments job creation and prices at the farm gate simply put a project of this

00:11:59.960 magnitude is a game changer for our industry and a win-win for all parties involved on behalf of

00:12:07.480 the canola industry i want to thank imperial and the government of alberta again for this opportunity

00:12:12.840 and we look forward to further collaboration and a bright future of value creation

00:12:18.040 with our partners in Alberta. Thank you very much.

00:12:27.880 Thank you, Chris. This concludes the speaking portion of today's news conference.

00:12:31.960 I'd now like to ask Jesse Rampton, the press secretary for the agriculture

00:12:37.320 and irrigation committee to come forward and facilitate questions and answers. Thank you very

00:12:41.560 Thank you very much.

00:12:43.560 Thank you.

00:12:45.560 We will be moving on to the media portion of our

00:12:47.560 announcement today.

00:12:49.560 Just a reminder to all reporters in the room and

00:12:51.560 on the call that we have all four speakers available to

00:12:53.560 answer questions today.

00:12:55.560 We will start with reporters in the room if there are

00:12:57.560 any.

00:12:59.560 We have a microphone in the back.

00:13:01.560 No reporters in the room.

00:13:03.560 We will move on to the calls.

00:13:05.560 Operator, if you could put through our first caller.

00:13:07.560 There are no questions on the phone at this time.

00:13:09.560 at this time. And that ends today's news conference. Thank you.

Western Standard - April 22, 2024

Tax Credits Transform Alberta's Bioprocessing Landscape.

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