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Canadian Natural Resources considering significant expansion of Horizon oil sands mine

Canada's biggest oil and gas manufacturer Canadian Natural Resources is looking at chances to substantially increase bitumen output at its primary oil sands mine, the business said on Thursday.

President Scott Stauth stated the company is considering a. 195,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) growth at its Horizon mining and. upgrading plant in northern Alberta through new extraction and. treatment procedures. Formerly the business stated it might add. 75,000 bpd of bitumen, however Stauth stated Canadian Natural had been. able to improve engineering and scale up the processes.

Horizon currently has capacity to produce about 255,000 bpd. of artificial crude oil made from bitumen.

Stauth stated the expansion would rely on new pipeline. export capacity as well as federal government financial support for a. carbon capture and storage project proposed by the Pathways. Alliance group, which Canadian Natural becomes part of.

That fiscal policy is definitely key for us to be able to. move any additional growth volumes forward, Stauth said on. a revenues call. Likewise crucial in terms of that would be. protecting and working on enhancing egress capacity.

In its incomes release, Canadian Natural stated it will. benefit from the start-up of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline. growth, in which it can move 94,000 barrels a day.

The company likewise increased its shipping commitment on the. Flanagan South pipeline to the U.S. Gulf Coast in the first. quarter, to 77,500 bpd from 22,500 bpd.

Canadian Natural missed out on experts' estimates for. first-quarter revenue, harmed by lower-than-expected production and. a drop in gas and synthetic petroleum rates.

The firm posted an adjusted profit of C$ 1.37 per share,. listed below analysts' typical price quotes of C$ 1.48 per share, according. to LSEG data. Net revenues were C$ 987 million ($ 720.07. million) compared with C$ 1.8 billion for the first quarter of. 2023.

The Calgary-based business produced 1.33 million barrels of. oil comparable each day (boepd) in the first quarter, somewhat. higher than the exact same period last year however lower than analysts'. expectations of 1.35 million boepd.

Oil sands mining production fell 3% from year-ago levels to. 445,209 barrels a day, due to prepared and unintended upkeep.

The company's realized natural gas cost fell 40% to C$ 2.55. per thousand cubic feet usually for the quarter from a year. previously, amidst a slump in North American gas markets due to. record production and low heating demand throughout a mild winter season.

In oil sands mining, artificial crude oil rates decreased. almost 8% to a typical C$ 88.84 per barrel.

Canadian Natural stated it will shift some drilling activity. away from dry gas wells and towards heavy oil, and plans to ramp. up activity in the 2nd half of the year when it prepares for. stronger prices.

Canadian Natural shares were last down 0.3% at C$ 102.80 on. the Toronto Stock Exchange.

(source: Reuters)