Business
Shell Canada announces $2.7 billion investment program for 2006
Shell Canada announces $2.7 billion investment program for 2006.
About this update from Mapath Capital Corp
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nCALGARY, Nov. 17 /CNW/ - Shell Canada announced today an investment plan\nfor 2006 totaling approximately $2.7 billion, 60 per cent higher than the\nanticipated spending level in 2005. The 2006 plan includes $2,410 million of\ncapital expenditures and $255 million of related exploration and pre-\ndevelopment expenses.\nClive Mather, Shell Canada's President and CEO, said, \"With a strong\nbalance sheet, excellent people and favourable economic prospects, Shell\nCanada is well positioned to grow. The 2006 plan launches us on a growth path\nto capture significant opportunities across the Company with the potential to\nincrease our production by more than 50 per cent by the end of this decade. We\nexpect to start construction on our first Athabasca oil sands expansion\nproject next year and over the next five years anticipate that our total\ninvestment program could approach $17 billion as we pursue this project and\nother growth opportunities.\"\nThe 2006 investment plan for the Exploration and Production (E&P)\nbusiness segment totals $1,165 million, about $305 million of which will be\ninvested in exploration and $845 million in development opportunities. These\nexpenditures include $80 million of related exploration expenses and \n$90 million of pre-development expenses for future growth projects.\nAbout 45 per cent of the E&P program is to maintain natural gas\nproduction levels in current areas of operation, $410 million in the Foothills\narea of Western Canada and $95 million at the Sable Offshore Gas Project\n(SOEP). The 2006 Foothills drilling program includes a follow-up well to the\nTay River discovery and an exploration test on another structure in the same\ntrend. The Tay River discovery well was re-tubed in September and is now\nproducing at approximately 90 million cubic feet per day (raw). Capital\nspending at SOEP in 2006 is mostly for completion of the ongoing compression\nproject, which will reduce tubing-head pressures in all the wells in the field\nand help to sustain production at current rates.\nThe balance of the 2006 E&P program is mainly focused on growth\nopportunities including unconventional gas in Western Canada and the Mackenzie\nGas Project in the far north, and the Peace River in-situ oil sands. Planned\nunconventional gas expenditures of about $405 million in 2006 will focus\n...