Oil sands operators boost first-half volumes by 28%

Gary Park

Output from Alberta’s three big-scale oil sands projects nudged 100 million barrels in the first half of 2004, easily topping 500,000 barrels per day.Financial results to the end of June from Syncrude Canada, Suncor Energy and the Shell Canada-led Athabasca facility showed combined production of 98 million bpd, an increase of 21.8 million bpd over the same period last year, with all three plants reporting major gains.

The giant Syncrude consortium climbed to 241,000 bpd from 200,000 bpd for the first six months of 2003, with operating costs down sharply to C$17.94 per barrel from C$24.11 last year.

Suncor raised its first-half average to 212,400 bpd from 199,650 bpd a year earlier, although it has trimmed its 2004 forecast to 220,000 bpd from an original 225,000-230,000 bpd because of maintenance work in April. Operating costs dropped to C$12.15 per barrel from C$12.80.The Athabasca venture, which only came on stream at the start of 2003, has made solid gains through the break-in period. Average output for the January-June period this year was 83,400 bpd, compared with 18,200 bpd in the same period of 2003, with this year’s operating costs averaging C$20.40 per barrel. The partnership is targeting staged expansion to 155,000 bpd.