The Albian Sands oilsands mine near Fort McMurray, Alta. Shell transferred its ownership stake in the mine to Canadian Natural Resources earlier this year.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Oil and gas giant Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. CNQ-T has boosted its production forecast for the year after it gained full ownership of a major oil sands mine through an asset-swap deal with Shell Canada Ltd. SHEL-N
The deal announced in January saw Canadian Natural trade 10 per cent of its working interest in the Scotford Upgrader and Quest Carbon Capture project for Shell’s remaining 10 per cent interest in the Albian mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta.
Canadian Natural says the deal, which has now closed, adds about 31,000 barrels per day of bitumen to its portfolio.
That brings its 2025 production guidance to between 1.56 million and 1.58 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.
The added output represents production growth of about 15 per cent over 2024 production levels.
Canadian Natural says its operating budget for the year remains unchanged at about $5.9-billion.
“As a result of our strong execution and capital discipline, we have been able to maintain targeted capital levels in 2025 on a larger asset base following opportunistic acquisitions in the year, excellent results by our teams,” said Canadian Natural president Scott Stauth.
The company reports its third-quarter results on Thursday.