Business
Shell Canada updates its in situ oil sands portfolio and upgrading strategy
Shell Canada updates its in situ oil sands portfolio and upgrading strategy.
About this update from Mapath Capital Corp
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nCALGARY, July 26 /CNW/ - Shell Canada Limited today provided an update of\nits overall in situ oil sands portfolio following the completion of the\nBlackRock Ventures acquisition, and also outlined its longer-term upgrading\nstrategy.\nAs part of Shell Canada's continuing review of the BlackRock assets\nfollowing the acquisition, the company estimates that its total in situ\noil-in-place is more than 25 billion barrels. This estimate includes the\nresources in the BlackRock leases of the Peace River, Cold Lake and Athabasca\noil sands regions, along with approximately seven billion barrels of\noil-in-place in Shell Canada's Peace River leases.\nOver the next two years, Shell Canada intends to build on the existing\nmomentum and grow in situ production to nearly 50,000 barrels per day (bpd)\npredominately from the base operations at Peace River, the newly acquired Seal\nand Chipmunk assets, and the initial phase of the Orion SAGD project in the\nCold Lake region. Additional future production growth will come from the\npreviously announced Peace River thermal expansions, expanded cold production\nopportunities and other recovery projects. Shell Canada will evaluate the use\nof enhanced recovery techniques such as waterflood, miscible flood and steam\ninjection to maximize recovery from the entire in situ portfolio. This will\nprovide a longer term in situ production potential of 150,000 bpd.\n\"Oil sands is at the heart of Shell Canada's growth strategy, and our new\nin situ portfolio significantly increases our potential,\" said Clive Mather,\nPresident and CEO, Shell Canada Limited. \"Our in situ oil-in-place now stands\nat more than 25 billion barrels of heavy oil and bitumen. And we believe there\nis more to come once we have completed our evaluation of the Athabasca area in\nsitu leases acquired in 2005 by the AOSP joint venture owners. These resources\nwill enable the company to grow production over the long term, exploiting our\ntechnical and operating expertise.\"\nThe manufacturing of synthetic blends and finished products is integral\nto Shell Canada's profitability and growth strategy. With its growing heavy\noil portfolio, Shell Canada is now planning to incorporate in situ production\ngrowth into future upgrading plans which will potentially include expansions\nat Scotford and other locations. Beyond the cur...