Cenovus reports production milestone at Alberta facilities

Canadian oil and natural gas company Cenovus Energy has reported that its thermal oil sands operations in northern Alberta have collectively produced one billion barrels of oil.

The Foster Creek and Christina Lake oil sands facilities produced oil using steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) technology.

The Foster Creek facility was the first commercial SAGD project to come on stream. Pilot production started in 1997 and it became a commercial project in 2001. Foster’s Christina Lake began producing oil since 2002.

Cenovus Energy president and CEO Alex Pourbaix said: “This incredible achievement for Cenovus represents over 20 years of hard work, perseverance and innovation by our staff members, both past and present.

“Thanks to their efforts, we can proudly say today that we are an industry leader, that our oil sands projects have made a significant contribution to the Canadian economy, and that Cenovus’s oil is among the most responsibly produced oil on the planet.”

From the start of construction, Foster Creek and Christina Lake generated $25bn in capital spending to the Canadian economy.

Since its launch, Cenovus generated nearly $3.2bn in royalty payments for the Alberta Government.

Cenovus said in a statement that the company achieved a 70% reduction in sustaining capital costs and a 45% reduction in operating costs over the last five years.

The company has reduced its per-barrel greenhouse gas emissions to one-third and the carbon emissions produced from its oil are below the average barrel produced globally.

Cenovus Energy executive vice-president and chief technology officer Harbir Chhina said: “One of the things that is very important to me from day one is to develop these resources responsibly, finding the right balance between generating economic value, protecting the environment and contributing to social wellbeing.”