Oil sands can compete in a lower cost environment only for sustaining operations and well executed brownfield expansions - new projects are completely uneconomic at present and for the next 5-10 years. Insitu projects will be favoured over mining projects especially as solvent aided technology advances and we live in a low natural gas price environment. Smaller scalable projects in optimal reservoirs where a manufacturing type approach can be implemented to facilities design and construction will make expansions and new projects viable.
9 replies (most recent on top)
Unless we have a major war in the Middle East we are looking at oversupply and $50 oil for the next five decades . Can oil sands compete in that market? At $50 oil the profit margin is pretty skinny The required activity and capital expenditure to make that profit is considerable. Can oil sands can oil sands compete with the portfolio of a major independent expiration and production company and obtain the necessary capital needed? Probably not in the for seeable future.
Most of these "rumors" have a grain of truth. They may be discussed, and are true in that they were considered, but history tells us most of the rumors turn out to not happen in the end.
Ummmm just to remind you we are on a unfiltered website with a bunch of Yahoo!'s and that's all they do is make stuff up. I wouldn't waste my typing on it.
But.... for rumour sake... I did hear that Nexen is looking for a buy....
CNOOC wants nothing more to do with the oil sands. Blueberry Montney is definitely a carrot, but is so far away from development that Surmont would be a big noose around any buyer's neck. Maybe produce what has been drilled, blow the scheme don and focus on Blueberry, but I'm not holding my breath, and especially not Nexen/CNOOC.
Canada about 5 years ago enacted strict limitations on the value of assets available to foreign state owned enterprises like CNOOC, PetroChina etc. so a deal isn't very likely unless an exceptional circumstance warranted it. Probably isn't happening.
Why does everyone seem to have a "source" or a "contact" who definitely knows what's going on? Stop spreading rumours and innuendo. Your contact doesn't know and neither do you. Ninety percent of stuff on this site is absolute crap. Everyone is a friggin expert who definitely knows what's going on. All your doing is freaking people out more than they already are. If it happens, it happens.
I hope so...that place will sink this company
I have a very close contact at Nexen and they are in discussions in Purchasing COP's stake in Surmont. I am unsure if Total is selling their portion but rumour is they want out of the venture as well. The carrot for Nexen is the blueberry asset that comes with the purchase.