NOVA Chemicals has a new owner, establishing the world's fourth-largest polyolefins player.
The company has been purchased by the Borouge Group International for $13.4 billion including debt, further expanding its footprint in North America.
The joint effort is between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and OMV Aktiengesellschaft (OMV).
A news release did not specify what impact, if any, there would be on local operations or workers.
Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership (SLEP) Chief Executive Officer Matthew Slotwinski is hopeful the sale will create long term sustainability for NOVA's local operations.
"Certainly, they are critical assets to the Sarnia-Lambton energy and chemistry complex," said Slotwinski. "We trust they will continue to be moving forward."
Slotwinski said recent investments into NOVA's local facilities, including the expansion of the Corunna cracker, make them attractive.
"Anytime that you're dealing with operations where there's been significant new investment and reinvestment, especially in innovative technologies, it's going to be attractive to purchasers," said Slotwinski. "At the same time, our understanding is one of the key interests associated with the acquisition of NOVA Chemicals is further integration into the North American market by the purchasing party. They want to provide access to customers on a more global scale."
Slotwinski is optimistic and hopeful for the future.
"It's always exciting to see world-scale companies have a presence locally. It brings a certain amount of strength and power to the operations," he said. "Hopefully, it provides some level of certainty to their ongoing operations and considerations for the jobs associated with them as well."
Slotwinski wants the new ownership to consider further reinvestment and diversification opportunities in the area.
According to NOVA Chemicals, the Corunna site produces 1.8 billion pounds of ethylene and about 700 million pounds of co-products annually.
Corunna provides feedstock to the Moore and St. Clair River sites which convert the ethylene into up to 1.3 billion pounds of polyethylene.
The St. Clair River site uses SCLAIRTECH technology to manufacture high-density and linear-low-density polyethylene resin.
End products from the polyethylene resin include bags and liners, caps and closures, food packaging and rotomolded goods.
As the largest private employer in the Sarnia-Lambton region, NOVA employs more than 1,000 workers.
NOVA also has facilities in Joffre, Alberta, as well as in Texas and Louisiana.
