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Shell issues formal proposal to expand the Athabasca Oil Sands Project
Shell issues formal proposal to expand the Athabasca Oil Sands Project.
About this update from Mapath Capital Corp
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\n\nCALGARY, July 28 /CNW/ - Shell Canada Limited announced that it has\nissued a formal proposal to proceed with Expansion 1 to the other Athabasca\nOil Sands Project (AOSP) joint venture owners. They have 90 days to respond.\n\"We have received our Board's support to take the next step on this\nimportant growth project,\" said Clive Mather, President and CEO, Shell Canada\nLimited. \"Issuing this proposal to the other owners is a key milestone in our\nstrategy to grow mining production from the Athabasca region to 550,000\nbarrels per day (bpd).\" (330,000 bpd Shell share)\nShell Canada completed an extensive feasibility study followed by a\nrigorous cost estimate and assurance review process in support of this formal\nproposal. The heated markets for labour, materials and equipment have impacted\nall facets of this 100,000 bpd expansion project. Although the capital\nintensity of the project, estimated at between $275 and $350 per annual\nflowing barrel, has increased significantly from earlier estimates, Expansion\n1 remains viable under a wide range of pricing scenarios.\nExpansion 1 is a fully integrated expansion of the existing AOSP\nfacilities, with both new oil sands mining operations on Lease 13 and\nassociated additional bitumen upgrading at Scotford. It also includes\nconstruction of common infrastructure that will be sized to support future\nexpansions. The previously announced solvent de-asphalting plant is not\nincluded in Expansion 1 because the technology is not yet ready for\nintegration into the upgrading process. It is expected that the Expansion 1\nexpenditures will be similar between the mine and the upgrader.\nShell Canada intends to make a final investment decision for this project\nin the fourth quarter of 2006 pending regulatory approvals. First bitumen\nproduction is expected in late 2009 followed by upgrader production in late\n2010.\nThe Muskeg River Mine is located about 75 kilometres north of Fort\nMcMurray, Alberta. The Scotford Upgrader is located near Fort Saskatchewan,\nnortheast of Edmonton. Together the facilities make up the existing Athabasca\nOil Sands Project, a joint venture among Shell Canada Limited (60%), Chevron\nCanada Limited (20%) and Western Oil Sands L.P. (20%).\n\nThis document contains \"forward-looking statements\" based upon\nmanagement's assessment of the Company's f...