In a time of cost-cutting extremes, one Canadian company has decided to finish their most recent oil sands project before settling down.
Imperial Oil Ltd. (IMO.TO) is the number two oil sand refiner and producer in Canada, majority owned by American ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM). This means they have the means to finish and improve upon a big project in today’s oil market.
This month, they have achieved that and more. Their oil sands refinery in the Kerl mine in northern Alberta came online this week, a full month in advance of their estimated start time.
This completion doubled the capacity of the site’s existing infrastructure, now 220,000 barrels per day. They admit this is not full capacity, but are willing to take their time getting to that point.
“We anticipate it will take about a year to reach capacity,” says one CIBC World Markets analyst. An expansion towards 345,000 barrels per day in the next five years will also be worth the wait.
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