NOVA Chemicals Q1 profit ascends 32% to $245mn

02 May '14

3 min read

NOVA Chemicals announces results for first quarter of 2014. For the first quarter of 2014, it generated profit of $245 million compared to profit of $185 million for the first quarter of 2013.

The quarter-over-quarter increase was primarily due to increased operating profit in the Polyethylene segment, offset somewhat by decreases in operating profit in the Joffre Olefins and Corunna Olefins segments.

The Olefins/Polyolefins business unit generated $377 million of operating profit in the first quarter of 2014, compared to operating profit of $336 million in the first quarter of 2013. The increase for the first quarter of 2014 was primarily due to higher margins in the Polyethylene segment, offset by lower margins in the Joffre Olefins and Corunna Olefins segments.

The Performance Styrenics segment generated operating profit of $3 million in the first quarter of 2014 compared to break even in the first quarter of 2013. The quarter-over-quarter increase was primarily due to higher polymer sales prices and lower feedstock costs, offset by lower product sales volumes.

Highlights

In January 2014, it began to utilize ethane extracted from off-gas produced at oil sands upgrading facilities in Alberta at its Joffre complex. As of April 2014, ethane supply from the Williston Basin in North Dakota is in the commissioning stage and is expected to arrive at its Joffre site later in the second quarter of 2014. With these two new sources of supply, together with its current ethane supply portfolio, it expects to be able to run its Joffre derivative plants at nameplate capacity.

In the first quarter of 2014, Marcellus Shale basin based ethane became a regular feedstock at its Corunna, Ontario cracker. It is currently running more than half of the target ethane volume and expects to reach full volume, allowing itself to complete its transition to run at up to 100% natural gas liquids, later in the summer.

In April 2014, NOVA Chemicals and Veresen Inc. entered into an agreement to explore the joint development and ownership of a greenfield salt cavern storage facility near Burstall, Saskatchewan. The facility would initially be designed for ethane storage in support of its Joffre operations and would be connected via pipeline to the existing Alberta Ethane Gathering System (owned by Veresen Inc.) which currently supplies the majority of feedstock to the Joffre complex.

About NOVA Chemicals

NOVA Chemicals develops and manufactures chemicals, plastic resins and end-products that make everyday life safer, healthier and easier. Its employees work to ensure health, safety, security and environmental stewardship through its commitment to sustainability and Responsible Care. NOVA Chemicals is a wholly owned subsidiary of International Petroleum Investment Company (“IPIC”) of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

NOVA Chemicals

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