While some European and U.S. companies cut their exposure to the Canadian oilsands, ChinaB次元官网网址檚 Big Three oil giants B次元官网网址� CNOOC, PetroChina and Sinopec B次元官网网址� seem content to let their bets ride even if the results havenB次元官网网址檛 been spectacular.
In 2018, PetroChina produced an average of just 7,300 barrels per day of bitumen from its MacKay River thermal oilsands project, although it was designed to produce 35,000 bpd. In June, its output was about 8,700 bpd.
The Beijing-based company paid $1.9 billion in 2009 for 60 per cent interests in the proposed MacKay River and Dover oilsands projects being developed by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. (now just Athabasca Oil Corp.), then bought out the rest of MacKay for $680 million in 2012 and Dover for $1.2 billion in 2014.
B次元官网网址淢acKay River is located in an area with complex geology, which creates challenges to heat up the reservoir to get the bitumen flowing,B次元官网网址� said spokesman Davis Sheremata in an emailed statement.
The company is drilling new wells and experimenting with various technologies to boost output, he said, adding a go-ahead for Dover has been put on hold until MacKay proves itself.
Still, B次元官网网址淧etroChina Canada is committed to Canada for the long-term, having maintained its investments through economically challenging times.B次元官网网址�
CNOOC produced about 71,000 bpd from the oilsands in 2018, little changed from 66,800 bpd in 2014, shortly after it spent $15.1 billion to buy CalgaryB次元官网网址檚 Nexen Energy and its diverse portfolio of domestic and international assets.
B次元官网网址淥ur oilsands assets are an important part of our North American portfolio and we remain committed to our Canadian operations,B次元官网网址� CNOOC spokesman Kyle Glennie wrote in a brief email.
Meanwhile, Sinopec paid $4.65 billion to buy a nine per cent stake in the Syncrude oilsands mining consortium from ConocoPhillips in 2010 and its resulting production has been steady since, registering just over 27,000 bpd in 2018.
The Chinese energy majors employ B次元官网网址減atient capitalB次元官网网址� and it seems unlikely they will leave the oilsands anytime soon, said Jia Wang, deputy director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta.
B次元官网网址淭he assets they bought may not be the most profitable or may require more capital intensive development. B次元官网网址� (but) these are large Chinese companies, theyB次元官网网址檙e not likely to become bankrupt,B次元官网网址� she said.
B次元官网网址淭hey have been through thick and thin, and different cycles of boom and bust. These (oilsands) operations in the grand scheme of these massive companies are not the largest chunk of their business so they can afford to have a presence here without incurring too much loss.B次元官网网址�
READ MORE:
Dan Healing, The Canadian Press
Like us on and follow us on .
