Canadian Natural Continues Progress of the Horizon Oil Sands Project
"Progress in the third quarter of 2007 did slip against our baseline as a result of distractions resulting from Alberta-wide labor negotiations that occurred throughout the summer. These challenges appear to be behind the Horizon Project, and our contractors current workforce of 8,700 people are focused on completing as much work as possible before winter."
During the quarter, the raw water pond was completed using our the company's mining operations workforce. In addition, pre-commissioning work has been initiated in the areas of utilities and offsites and bitumen production with significant hydro testing targeted for completion before winter conditions set in.
Commissioning and start-up plans have been reviewed and confirmed by external industry experts and have assisted in optimizing our processes. During the fourth quarter of 2007 Canadian Natural will carry out a formalized detailed risk assessment of its commissioning and start-up schedule to identify areas of exposure and ensure adequate contingency plans are developed. Also, in the fourth quarter of 2007, several plants are targeted to reach mechanical completion and we will begin the transition to commissioning and start-up. Training programs are in place, and in anticipation of turnover, operations have commenced the review of systems in certain plants.
Previous decisions to defer several contracts and delay certain projects to capture cost reduction opportunities has caused overlap between some construction projects on the site and has resulted in an increase in the company's peak project manpower requirements. Canadian Natural's supporting camp and transportation infrastructure has been successfully expanded to accommodate the higher peak in manpower to ensure workers are adequately accommodated.
As a result some work has been pushed into the more challenging winter months, resulting in a modest increase in the forecast completion cost for the Horizon Project. The company's current Horizon Project completion cost forecast has been increased from the 5% to 12% range provided in its first quarter 2007 Horizon Project Update to an 8% to 14% range over the original $6.8 billion estimate.
- Falcon Oil Declares Commercial Flow Test Results for Shenandoah Well
- Japan Failing to Meet Corporate Demand for Clean Power: Amazon
- Macquarie Strategists Expect Brent Oil Price to Grind Higher
- UK Oil Regulator Publishes New Emissions Reduction Plan
- PetroChina Posts Higher Annual Profit on Higher Production
- Pennsylvania County Joins List of Local Govts Suing Big Oil over Climate
- McDermott Settles Reficar Dispute
- US, SKorea Launch Task Force to Stop Illicit Refined Oil Flows into NKorea
- Russian Navy Enters Warship-Crowded Red Sea Amid Houthi Attacks
- USA Commercial Crude Oil Inventories Increase
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea
- Standard Chartered Reiterates $94 Brent Call
- India Halts Russia Oil Supplies From Sanctioned Tanker Giant
- DOI Announces Proposal for Second GOM Offshore Wind Auction
- Centcom, Dryad Outline Recent Moves Around Red Sea Region
- PetroChina Set to Receive Venezuelan Oil
- Czech Conglomerate to Buy Major Stake in Gasnet for $917MM
- US DOE Offers $44MM in Funding to Boost Clean Power Distribution
- Oil Settles Lower as Stronger Dollar Offsets Tighter Market
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Another Major Oilfield Discovery
- New China Climate Chief Says Fossil Fuels Must Keep a Role
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension
- Equinor Makes Discovery in North Sea