The company, which is
"Our team has been working on expansion opportunities ... What's key to all of it is two front," said CNRL president
"One is we need to ensure that we have a carbon policy in place. ... That fiscal policy is absolutely key for us to be able to move any additional expansion volumes forward. And also what's important in terms of that would be securing and working on enhancing egress capacity as well out of the basin."
CNRL made the announcement the same day the company reported its first-quarter profit fell compared with a year ago as it realized lower prices for synthetic crude oil and natural gas.
The company reported it earned
But CNRL, which remains the darling among energy investors and analysts for its history of strong financial results, also said its latestquarter was the first since achieving its net debt target. The company is now returning 100 per cent of its free cash flow to shareholders.
"CNQ remains our favourite producer,"
Stauth said the company had previously talked about a potential 75,000 barrel per day expansion over the long-term at its Horizon mine north of
But he said CNRL now believes greater gains can be achieved through both its in-pit extraction process project — which aims to replace the traditional bitumen extraction process by processing the bitumen right at the mine face — and its paraffinic froth treatment system, which makes use of hydrocarbon solvents to reduce the amount of energy required to separate bitumen from surrounding sand and water.
CNRL's expansion plans were announced one day after the commercial start-up of the
The long-awaited pipeline expansion has enabled rising oil production not just from CNRL, but from many Canadian oil producers.
Canada Energy Regulator data shows that in March,
Analysts have said the
In addition, companies are under pressure from both government and investors to significantly reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
CNRL is a member of the
The federal government's promised cap on oil and gas sector emissions, which is expected to be finalized this year, could also be a limiting factor.
CNRL warned Thursday of potential negative consequences of the cap.
"The proposed oil and natural gas sector emissions cap is unnecessary, exceedingly complex and undermines the investor confidence required for large-scale, long-term emission reduction initiatives," the company said in a news release.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published
Companies in this story: (TSX:CNQ)
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