Connacher untroubled by regulatory snags

Oil sands junior Connacher Oil and Gas expects to remain on its fast-track course to coming on stream and reaching targeted output of 10,000 barrels per day in 2007, regardless of regulatory hitches.

Connacher Chief Executive Officer Dick Gusella said the company expects initial production within 330 days of starting construction and full output within 90 days of oil flowing.

Those goals still hinge on approvals from the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board, which is dealing with concerns raised by a natural gas producer in the vicinity of the Great Divide lease, which holds 90 million barrels of recoverable bitumen.

Connacher said there is no assurance that the issues will be resolved on an “expeditious basis,” although it believes the board is satisfied with all technical matters.

The company has already made bold strides in locking up a natural gas supply to fuel Great Divide and acquiring a Montana refinery to process its bitumen.

Earlier this year it bought Holly Corp’s 8,300 bpd Great Falls, Mont., refinery and made a C$196.6 million takeover of Luke Energy to secure 15.7 million cubic feet per day of gas production.

—Gary Park