CALGARY, Feb. 24 /CNW/ - Shell Canada announced today that bitumen production at the Muskeg River Mine oil sands facility has been suspended while unscheduled maintenance work is undertaken on a large conveyor belt. Early on February 24, 2006, a major tear was discovered in the conveyor belt that transports ore from the crushers in the mine to the bitumen extraction plant. Bitumen production at the mine has been shut down and will remain suspended until a full assessment can be completed and a course of action determined. Synthetic crude oil production at the Scotford Upgrader has been reduced pending the resumption of bitumen production from the mine. Further updates will be provided when more information becomes available. The Muskeg River Mine is located about 75 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Alberta. The Scotford Upgrader is located near Fort Saskatchewan, northeast of Edmonton. Together, these facilities make up the Athabasca Oil Sands Project, a joint venture among Shell Canada Limited (60 per cent), Chevron Canada Limited (20 per cent) and Western Oil Sands L.P. (20 per cent). This document contains "forward-looking statements" based upon management's assessment of the Corporation's operations. The forward-looking statements contained in this document include references to future production and operational reliability. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks, and uncertainties that may cause the Corporation's actual performance or results to differ materially from any estimates or projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, operating conditions, operating costs, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Corporation. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations represented by such forward-looking statements are reasonable based on the information available to it.