Fort Hills oil sands project more than half completed, Teck says

April 27, 2016
Teck Resources Ltd., Vancouver, BC, said construction of the Fort Hills oil sands project in northern Alberta is more than half completed. It was 40% complete last September.

Teck Resources Ltd., Vancouver, BC, said construction of the Fort Hills oil sands project in northern Alberta is more than half completed. It was 40% complete last September (OGJ Online, Sept. 21, 2015).

The 180,000-b/d project is on schedule, with start of oil production expected as early as fourth-quarter 2017.

Teck’s partners in the $15-billion project are Suncor Energy Inc. and Total E&P Canada Ltd. (OGJ Online, Oct. 31, 2013).

With a 20% stake, Teck said its first-quarter capital expenditures on Fort Hills totaled $213 million, and its remaining cash funding to complete the project is $1 billion.

Teck said it is reviewing options to sell diluted bitumen into the North American and overseas markets. It may use pipelines from Hardisty, Alta., or rail to access US Gulf Coast refineries and tidewater ports.

The company reported $94 million in first-quarter profit compared with $68 million a year earlier.