The Observer [Sarnia, Ontario] reported on October 20 that a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation will be purchasing a portion of Arlanxeo’s chemical production operation based in Sarnia. Arlanxeo will sell its olefins unit, which makes chemicals such as butadiene and raffinate, to the Diamond Petrochemicals Canada Corporation for an undisclosed amount.

The sale is expected to close in the first half of 2021, and was many years in the making. “We’ve been working with Mitsubishi on helping them understand opportunities in the Sarnia-Lambton area for over three years,” said Stephen Thompson, CEO with the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership. The area around Sarnia is known locally as “Chemical Valley” due to the number of refineries and chemical plants that have been built in the region, going back to the early 1940s.