Canadian Oil Sands focuses on four strategic areas.
Canadian Oil Sands takes a long-term view in setting our financial plan.
We value maintaining a strong balance sheet to preserve our investment grade credit ratings, support our business through commodity price cycles, and provide capacity to invest in growth opportunities.
We intend to profitably invest a portion of the cash generated in our business into economic oil sands growth opportunities, while returning excess cash to investors through quarterly distributions.
2009 Progress
- Preserved liquidity and financial flexibility with prudent distribution levels and the refinancing of 2009 debt maturities.
- Maintained a prudent financial position with net debt of $1 billion, or 21 per cent of total capitalization at year end.
- Increased distributions as crude oil prices improved, paying a total of $435 million, or $0.90 per Trust Unit in 2009.
- Reinstated the Premium Distribution, Distribution Re-Investment and Optional Unit Purchase Plan (DRIP) to support the balance sheet during weak economic conditions; suspended DRIP in the second quarter with improvements in financial position and markets.
- Achieved a return on average productive capital employed of about 7 per cent.
|
2010 Plan
- Maintain a strong financial position.
- Mitigate impact of trust taxation through tax pools, anticipated to total $2 billion by the end of 2010.
- Convert to a corporation on or about December 31, 2010.
|
Beyond 2010
- Manage net debt in anticipation of funding major sustaining capital projects and growth opportunities.
- Maintain discipline of paying a quarterly dividend, the amount varying with changes in crude oil prices, economic conditions, Syncrude's operating performance, and operating and investing obligations.
|
Syncrude Canada Ltd. is the operator of the Syncrude Project, and runs the day-to-day operations.
Imperial Oil, a 25 per cent owner of the project, provides expertise, systems and people under a Management Services Agreement.
Canadian Oil Sands works with Syncrude and its joint venture owners to set the strategic direction for the project and approve significant operational and strategic decisions. Each Syncrude owner is entitled to one vote. Operating decisions require a 51 per cent majority with at least three owners approving, while major growth decisions require unanimous approval.
2009 Progress
- Completed turnaround and modifications on Coker 8-3 complex with aim of improving yield and run length.
-
Completed turnaround on Vacuum Distillation Unit.
-
Turnaround of the LC finer was deferred to 2010.
-
Successfully increased bitumen supply by year-end 2009.
-
Syncrude's total recordable injury rate in 2009 was 0.36 compared with a rate of 0.59 for 2008. While the recordable injury rate declined, a fatality occurred in November that marred the improvement in overall safety. |
2010 Plan
- Complete a turnaround of Coker 8-1, the LC finer and other operating units.
- Improve the reliability of the mining, extraction and upgrading processes at Syncrude.
- Continue to focus on worker safety by investing in training, awareness activities, and other initiatives. More emphasis will be placed on compliance with procedures and practices.
|
Beyond 2010
- Establish sustained design capacity production rates to average 350,000 barrels per day at Syncrude.
- Relocate 2 mine trains at the Aurora North Mine and reconstruct another 2 mine trains at the North Mine.
|
Near-term production growth is expected as Syncrude ramps up to its facility’s current design capacity.
Syncrude has plans to grow productive capacity and broaden its product slate.
Canadian Oil Sands evaluates opportunities to grow its interest in the oil sands through consolidation of Syncrude interests and acquisition of other oil sands related assets.
2009 Progress
- Modified Syncrude growth plans based on initial design and scoping engineering work. Syncrude now anticipates producing over 600,000 barrels per day of bitumen, from which upgraded Synthetic Crude Oil production would be about 425,000 barrels per day by 2020.
- Submitted an update report to the regulators further to the conditions for approval received for Aurora South in 1998.
|
2010 Plan
- Further develop plans to add bitumen supply from Aurora South and debottleneck the upgrader.
|
Beyond 2010
|
Sustainable growth remains a key objective for Syncrude and Canadian Oil Sands.
We recognize our operations have an impact on communities, the environment and the Canadian economy and we are committed to managing our operations in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
2009 Progress
-
Improved waterfowl deterrents for tailings ponds.
-
Spent $300 million net to the Trust on the Syncrude Emissions Reduction project, achieving about 50 per cent project completion.
- Committed to a set of principles for oil sands development together with Canada's largest oil sands operators.
- Canadian Oil Sands' President and CEO engaged Canadians in an ongoing discussion about oil sands development. For more information, visit www.OilSandsNow.ca.
- Syncrude's total economic contribution was more than $5 billion in 2009.
|
2010 Plan
- Continue to work wtih other oil sands developers to foster a more balanced public discussion of Canada's oil sands and to identify ways to improve sustainable development.
- Construct a pilot project at Syncrude for centrifuge tailings management technology with commercial scale demonstration in 2012.
- Begin the first large-scale reclamation of a fen wetland; Syncrude expects to spend more than $50 million on this project.
- Continue landform development and reclamation of the former Syncrude East Mine area.
- Donate $5 million at the Syncrude level to support community initiatives with a focus on healthcare, education and local recreation.
|
Beyond 2010
- Complete the Syncrude Emissions Reduction project by the end of 2011, thereby leading to a 60 per cent reduction in sulphur dioxide emissions.
- Implement measures to reduce energy intensity, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions and operating costs.
- Develop the industry's first commercial scale demonstration of an end-pit lake using tailings capped with water.
- Share with industry new technologies to improve and supplement effectiveness of tailings systems.
- Create a fresh water lake on Syncrude's lease 17.
- Continue to support development of large scale carbon capture and storage through participatioin in the Integrated CO2 Network (ICON2N).
- Evaluate new ways to reduce our impact on the environment, focusing on operational reliability and technology development.
- Continue to invest at the Syncrude level to support projects and organizations focused on enhancing the quality of life in local communities.
- Explore new technologies and better practices to reduce our impact on the environment
|