|
ConocoPhillips eager to play in oil sands
Bolstered by its joint-venture with EnCana, ConocoPhillips is prepared to invest heavily in pipelines and refinery upgrades to process more oil sands production from Alberta provided governments on both sides of the 49th parallel will speed up the regulatory process.
James Mulva, CEO of the big U.S. independent, told a conference call that greater development of the oil sands is vital as the U.S. tries to lower its dependency on oil imports from outside North America.
He said the Conoco-EnCana joint venture has a target production of 400,000 barrels per day of crude from two major oil sands projects and the third-largest U.S. oil company is already investing $5.3 billion to upgrade its 306,000 bpd refinery in Wood River, Ill., and its 146,000 bpd Texas plant at Borger to handle greater volumes of heavy Canadian crudes.
Conoco considering extending pipelines In addition, it is considering extending pipelines and upgrading three refineries on the U.S. Gulf Coast that currently rely on shrinking U.S. volumes and imports from outside North America to process Canadian production, Mulva said.
Given this agenda ConocoPhillips has no interest in buying or selling refinery assets, he said.
The company is confining its interest to upgrades or capacity expansions at established facilities.
But Mulva echoed the concerns of Canadian producers and industry associations who worry that the pace of approvals by U.S. and Canadian regulators remains troublesome and could stall progress on new infrastructure unless jurisdictions cooperate more closely to expedite reviews.
Gary Park
| 