The second of four major moves of oversized equipment in the next several weeks is on its way from Edmonton to Inter Pipeline Ltd.’s Heartland Petrochemical Complex construction site near Fort Saskatchewan.
Alberta issued a travel advisory on Friday afternoon for “another wide load” that could disrupt traffic starting over the weekend until it reaches the site on Tuesday.
The vessel is a 682-tonne, 63-metre long (or tall, when standing) de-ethanizer stripper that will be part of Inter Pipeline’s $3.5-billion facility, which will process Alberta propane into a high value recyclable plastic known as polypropylene.
The de-ethanizer splitter will be used to separate ethane from liquid natural gas to be reused elsewhere in the plant or for other petrochemical products such as fuel, the government said.
Its move to the site by Mammoet follows the record-setting transport of another vessel to the Heartland Complex earlier this month: an 820-tonne, 97-metre long propylene-propane splitter that is the largest vessel by volume ever fabricated in Alberta. Like the de-ethanizer splitter, it was fabricated by Dacro Industries in Edmonton.
There are two more oversized moves of key components from Edmonton to the site coming up, Inter Pipeline’s Steven Noble told JWN.
“We will have one more after this in mid-February, and again in mid-March,” he said.
“The PP Splitter that moved last week, however was the largest.”
The Heartland Petrochemical Complex is Canada’s first of its kind, and has up to $200 million in royalty credits committed from the Government of Alberta..
Construction completion is scheduled for late 2021.
