Suncor focuses on low-cost oilsands expansions

Suncor Energy Inc.’s on-again, off-again devise to supplement a coker section to a Montreal refinery to concede it to routine heavier barrels of oil, including oilsands bitumen, is off a list as it shuffles a spending priorities.

The $2-billion devise has been suspended as a association focuses on low-cost oilsands expansions, projects that will assistance revoke emissions and cost-cutting digital technologies, CEO Mark Little pronounced Thursday on a discussion call to plead fourth-quarter results.

Little pronounced a association is listening to investors as it aims to beget some-more giveaway money upsurge while gripping spending in check.

“Some of a regard we see from a investors is, ‘Wow, you’re going to plow $2 billion into Montreal, are we sure?’,” he said.

“We spent a lot of time meditative about that and using all a research and resolved that indeed wasn’t a advantageous investment for a shareholder.”

Different investments

Suncor also inaugurated to defer supporting of a due 40,000-barrel-per-day Meadow Creek oilsands project, that would furnish bitumen from wells, until 2023 during a earliest, Little said.

Instead, it will deposit in boosting prolongation from a existent identical Firebag trickery to nameplate ability of 203,000 bpd by 2021 and afterwards potentially supplement 20,000-30,000 bpd by 2024-25.

It also skeleton to build lower-emission co-generation units during a Base Plant this year and start construction of a $300-million breeze appetite devise in southern Alberta.

The Calgary-based appetite hulk reported a net detriment of $2.3 billion for entertain finished Dec. 31 due especially to item spoil charges of $3.3 billion.

That includes $2.8 billion due to reduce foresee prices for complicated oil from a Fort Hills oilsands cave in northern Alberta and $393 million related to aloft collateral cost estimates for a West White Rose enlargement devise off a seashore of Newfoundland and Labrador, that is approaching to start producing oil in 2022.

Husky Energy Inc., that is a vital owners and user of a White Rose field, pronounced a numbers align with those of Suncor.

“As indicated final year, we had some initial hurdles with capability during West White Rose, and we are now saying good execution and are on track,” pronounced Husky mouthpiece Kim Guttormson, who declined to give a minute cost guess for a expansion.

Suncor pronounced it expects a share of prolongation from a White Rose margin will normal about 8,700 bpd over a life and a share of destiny collateral expenditures is about $1.4 billion.

Suncor shares fell by as most as 4.6 per cent in early trade on a Toronto Stock Exchange, nonetheless it announced an 11 per cent boost in a quarterly division and a $2-billion prolongation of a module to buy behind shares.

Analysts pronounced a prolongation formula were generally in line, though misses on a handling and collateral costs in a entertain were somewhat negative.

Plans to extend oilsands mine

Little also announced Suncor will record an focus in a stream entertain for a devise to extend a bottom oilsands cave to a new area when a stream apparatus is depleted in about 2035.

The devise represents one of many options and wouldn’t be strictly authorized for during slightest a decade, he stressed.

“We feel that filing in 2020 is advantageous underneath a stream regulatory process, including a effects of a new (federal) comment act, to safeguard adequate time is supposing for a regulatory process,” he said.

“Should we select to extend a mine, a devise is to incorporate non-aqueous descent record that significantly reduces a costs and environmental impacts of mining oilsands contra a stream operations.”

Suncor reported a MacKay River oilsands project, that produces about 30,000 bpd from wells, was close down following an operational problem in Dec and is not approaching behind to be behind on line until after March.

The outage won’t impact 2020 superintendence for a company, Little said, since a detriment of barrels can be counted underneath Alberta’s ongoing oil prolongation curtailment program.

Article source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/suncor-oilsands-montreal-refinery-1.5454582?cmp=rss