Province teaming up with Calgary company for a $2 Billion dollar upgrading facility near Edmonton

From the Province of Alberta

Made-in-Alberta plan moves $2-billion investment forward

Premier Rachel Notley’s Made-in-Alberta energy strategy is taking a major step forward in diversifying the economy, creating new jobs and adding more value to our resources.

Calgary-based Value Creation Inc. (VCI) and its wholly owned subsidiary Value Chain Solutions Inc. are on track to invest $2 billion in an upgrading facility in the Alberta Industrial Heartland, just east of Edmonton, which will create more than 2,000 construction jobs and another 200 full-time positions once the facility is up and running.

This is just the first of several new projects made possible through the Made-in-Alberta strategy to do more upgrading and refining of the province’s oil and gas resources here at home.

“We’re taking the bull by the horns and fighting to get full value for our oil. Albertans have been talking about this for decades, and we’re not content to sit on the sidelines and let good jobs and investment pass Alberta by for places like Louisiana. That has happened for too long and it has got to stop. We’re making sure the next generation of Albertans have the opportunities they deserve in a stronger, more resilient, more diversified province.”

Rachel Notley, Premier

VCI’s leading-edge facility will upgrade diluted oil sands bitumen into a higher-value crude blend that can flow easier through pipelines. This provides significant cost savings to industry because it would reduce the need for diluent, while increasing pipeline capacity by up to 30 per cent, and providing access to more refineries around the world that cannot currently accept Alberta’s oil sands bitumen.

The partial upgrading technology is expected to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 16 per cent per barrel compared to current processes used to extract bitumen.

“We here at Value Creation Inc. and Value Chain Solutions Inc. look forward to building upon Premier Rachel Notley’s vision of diversifying our energy markets and maximizing the value of the resources owned by Albertans. Our project is going to create good, long-term jobs with game-changing technology for low-cost upgrading and strong environmental performance.”

Columba Yeung, chairman and CEO, Value Creation Inc. and Value Chain Solutions Inc.

Through a letter of intent, the province has agreed to support the project through a $440-million loan guarantee, subject to reaching a final agreement. In all, Alberta is providing more than $3 billion in support for crude oil and bitumen partial upgrading and petrochemical upgrading, which turns Alberta natural gas into higher-value products like plastics.

“This government’s Made-in-Alberta upgrading program is a crucial element to ensuring these value-add investments happen in Alberta. Alberta’s Industrial Heartland is a key economic driver of the province’s economy, with potential for $30 billion in new investment by 2030. Upgrading more of our resources here at home means more jobs and more investment in our local communities, with new value chains that will help diversify our economy for generations to come.”

Mark Plamondon, executive director, Alberta’s Industrial Heartland Association

Construction of the Strathcona County-based project is already underway, with some foundational infrastructure in place and design work nearly completed. The plant is expected to be operational in 2022. Once completed, this would be the first commercial-scale partial upgrader in the world using this new technology, which VCI has been developing over several years.

VCI’s facility is just the first of others to be announced under Premier Notley’s Made-in-Alberta strategy, which is focused on creating jobs, adding value to our energy resources and exporting our products to new markets. This plan is at the heart of diversifying Alberta’s energy sector and making sure we get full value for the resources owned by all Albertans.

VCI project background

The first phase of the Value Chain Solutions – Heartland Complex (VCS-H) will use 77,500 barrels-per-day (bpd) of diluted bitumen to produce a medium synthetic crude oil and an ultra low sulfur diesel, which is a cleaner-burning transportation fuel used here at home and around the world.
Founded in 1999 and based in Calgary, Value Creation Inc. has nearly 1,200 square kilometres of oil sands land holdings in Alberta.
The company has developed a plan to engage with Indigenous communities across the region for employment, contracting and long-term alliance opportunities.
VCI’s technology is expected to help reduce GHG emissions by up to 16 per cent compared to current processes. This is the equivalent to cutting 620,000 tonnes of harmful emissions per year, or removing 135,000 cars from the road.
The project is expected to generate roughly $2.5 billion in revenue to the province over the 30-year life of the project.
Strathcona County is expected to receive about $280 million in municipal tax revenue over the life of the project.

Made-in-Alberta energy strategy

Partial upgrading of bitumen

$1 billion in grants and loan guarantees to encourage companies to build bitumen upgrading facilities to:
- increase the value of our energy resources before shipping
- allow more volume to be shipped through pipelines

Partial upgrading reduces the thickness of oil sands bitumen so it can flow through pipelines more easily, without having to be blended with diluent, or as much diluent, a thinning agent. Benefits include:
- higher prices for our resources
- more access to international markets
- cost savings on diluent for industry
- fewer emissions by removing high carbon content
Partial upgrading is cheaper to do than full upgrading because it requires less processing.
In 2016, oil sands companies in Alberta purchased $13.3 billion worth of diluent, much of it imported.
Bitumen that goes to market without upgrading or refining has historically been sold at lower prices compared to other crude oils.
- Partial upgrading could help reduce this discount by improving the quality of the product and increasing the number of refineries capable of processing it.

Petrochemical upgrading

Total support will now reach $2.1 billion to unlock about $20 billion in private-sector investment.
This would help create as many as 15,500 jobs during construction of multiple petrochemical facilities across the province.
Inter Pipeline’s Heartland Petrochemical Complex is already under construction as a result of this program:
- $3.5 billion private investment
- 2,300 construction jobs, 180 operational jobs
- The complex processes propane into plastic pellets called polypropylene, which is used around the world making kids’ toys, electronics and automotive parts.

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Alberta

Low oil prices could have big consequences for Alberta’s finances

Published on April 26, 2025

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill

Amid the tariff war, the price of West Texas Intermediate oil—a common benchmark—recently dropped below US$60 per barrel. Given every $1 drop in oil prices is an estimated $750 million hit to provincial revenues, if oil prices remain low for long, there could be big implications for Alberta’s budget.

The Smith government already projects a $5.2 billion budget deficit in 2025/26 with continued deficits over the following two years. This year’s deficit is based on oil prices averaging US$68.00 per barrel. While the budget does include a $4 billion “contingency” for unforeseen events, given the economic and fiscal impact of Trump’s tariffs, it could quickly be eaten up.

Budget deficits come with costs for Albertans, who will already pay a projected $600 each in provincial government debt interest in 2025/26. That’s money that could have gone towards health care and education, or even tax relief.

Unfortunately, this is all part of the resource revenue rollercoaster that’s are all too familiar to Albertans.

Resource revenue (including oil and gas royalties) is inherently volatile. In the last 10 years alone, it has been as high as $25.2 billion in 2022/23 and as low as $2.8 billion in 2015/16. The provincial government typically enjoys budget surpluses—and increases government spending—when oil prices and resource revenue is relatively high, but is thrown into deficits when resource revenues inevitably fall.

Fortunately, the Smith government can mitigate this volatility.

The key is limiting the level of resource revenue included in the budget to a set stable amount. Any resource revenue above that stable amount is automatically saved in a rainy-day fund to be withdrawn to maintain that stable amount in the budget during years of relatively low resource revenue. The logic is simple: save during the good times so you can weather the storm during bad times.

Indeed, if the Smith government had created a rainy-day account in 2023, for example, it could have already built up a sizeable fund to help stabilize the budget when resource revenue declines. While the Smith government has deposited some money in the Heritage Fund in recent years, it has not created a dedicated rainy-day account or introduced a similar mechanism to help stabilize provincial finances.

Limiting the amount of resource revenue in the budget, particularly during times of relatively high resource revenue, also tempers demand for higher spending, which is only fiscally sustainable with permanently high resource revenues. In other words, if the government creates a rainy-day account, spending would become more closely align with stable ongoing levels of revenue.

And it’s not too late. To end the boom-bust cycle and finally help stabilize provincial finances, the Smith government should create a rainy-day account.

Alberta

Governments in Alberta should spur homebuilding amid population explosion

Published on April 26, 2025

Todayville

From the Fraser Institute

By Tegan Hill and Austin Thompson

In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.

Alberta has long been viewed as an oasis in Canada’s overheated housing market—a refuge for Canadians priced out of high-cost centres such as Vancouver and Toronto. But the oasis is starting to dry up. House prices and rents in the province have spiked by about one-third since the start of the pandemic. According to a recent Maru poll, more than 70 per cent of Calgarians and Edmontonians doubt they will ever be able to afford a home in their city. Which raises the question: how much longer can this go on?

Alberta’s housing affordability problem reflects a simple reality—not enough homes have been built to accommodate the province’s growing population. The result? More Albertans competing for the same homes and rental units, pushing prices higher.

Population growth has always been volatile in Alberta, but the recent surge, fuelled by record levels of immigration, is unprecedented. Alberta has set new population growth records every year since 2022, culminating in the largest-ever increase of 186,704 new residents in 2024—nearly 70 per cent more than the largest pre-pandemic increase in 2013.

Homebuilding has increased, but not enough to keep pace with the rise in population. In 2024, construction started on 47,827 housing units—the most since 48,336 units in 2007 when population growth was less than half of what it was in 2024.

Moreover, from 1972 to 2019, Alberta added 2.1 new residents (on average) for every housing unit started compared to 3.9 new residents for every housing unit started in 2024. Put differently, today nearly twice as many new residents are potentially competing for each new home compared to historical norms.

While Alberta attracts more Canadians from other provinces than any other province, federal immigration and residency policies drive Alberta’s population growth. So while the provincial government has little control over its population growth, provincial and municipal governments can affect the pace of homebuilding.

For example, recent provincial amendments to the city charters in Calgary and Edmonton have helped standardize building codes, which should minimize cost and complexity for builders who operate across different jurisdictions. Municipal zoning reforms in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer have made it easier to build higher-density housing, and Lethbridge and Medicine Hat may soon follow suit. These changes should make it easier and faster to build homes, helping Alberta maintain some of the least restrictive building rules and quickest approval timelines in Canada.

There is, however, room for improvement. Policymakers at both the provincial and municipal level should streamline rules for building, reduce regulatory uncertainty and development costs, and shorten timelines for permit approvals. Calgary, for instance, imposes fees on developers to fund a wide array of public infrastructure—including roads, sewers, libraries, even buses—while Edmonton currently only imposes fees to fund the construction of new firehalls.

It’s difficult to say how long Alberta’s housing affordability woes will endure, but the situation is unlikely to improve unless homebuilding increases, spurred by government policies that facilitate more development.