Cenovus plans to increase its capital spending by about 24% and expand its total oil production by 14% in 2017 compared to estimated average production in 2016.
The firm plans to invest between $1.2bn and $1.4bn in 2017 in projects including construction of the phase G expansion at Cenovus’s Christina Lake oil sands project and in conventional oil drilling opportunities with high-return potential in southern Alberta.
About 70% of its 2017 capital budget is planned to be used for maintaining the company’s oil sands production and base production at its other operations.
The remaining budget is planned for growth projects at oil sands assets as well as at its tight oil assets.
Cenovus president and CEO Brian Ferguson said: “As we resume investing in growth projects in the year ahead, Cenovus will continue to focus on maximizing cost efficiencies and maintaining financial resilience while delivering safe and reliable operations.”
Separately, Crescent Point has increased its planned 2017 capital budget to about 32% from estimated spending levels in 2016.
In 2017, the firm plans to invest $1.45bn in a bid to achieve production growth of approximately 10%. It intends to have exit production rate of approximately 183,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day.
Of the total 2017 budget, $1.29bn is planned to be used for drilling and development activities while the remaining $160m is allocated to infrastructure and seismic investments across the firm’s core areas.
Image: Cenovus has operations in northern Alberta. Photo: courtesy of Cenovus Energy Inc.
