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“Pipeline delays and our inability to get our oil products to new markets continues to cost our province and our country millions and millions of dollars each and every day,” she said. “We refuse to accept the situation.”

Through a “petrochemical diversification program,” Notley has attempted to encourage the construction of facilities that process Alberta’s abundant natural gas supplies into products such as plastic pellets.

At the same time, she has attempted to use similar incentives to encourage companies to invest in new refineries to process oil into products like gasoline, diesel and jet fuel amid a lack of new export pipelines.

So far, the petrochemical program has resulted in four projects, worth a cumulative total of $12.6 billion, being announced. Two of those projects, propane-to-plastics facilities by Inter Pipeline and Pembina Pipeline Corp., have broken ground. Another project, a methane-processing facility by Nauticol Energy Ltd. was announced in October.

The province is still looking for a new refinery project, though it is negotiating with companies on proposals to build heavy oil upgrading facilities.

“We all know the issues that we have about moving our unprocessed natural resources out of the province,” said David Chappell, Inter Pipeline senior vice-president, petrochemical development.

Inter Pipeline reached a final investment decision on its under-construction $3.5-billion propane-to-plastics facility in late 2017. The new acrylic acid facility would be located near the site of that project, and construction will begin after the first is complete.