Total has reported that the Fort Hills oil sands project located in Alberta, Canada, 90 kilometers north of Fort McMurray, has achieved first oil. Production will ramp up over the next months to reach a plateau of 180,000 barrels per day. The project is operated by Suncor and owned by Suncor (53.06%), Total (26.05%) and Teck (20.89%).
“We are pleased to see Fort Hills achieving first oil after a challenging construction program of several years in a difficult climatic environment and we congratulate the operator Suncor for having brought to bear all of its expertise to carry out this project,” stated Arnaud Breuillac, President Exploration & Production at Total.
In line with its strategy, which aims at focusing its capital allocation on low breakeven oil projects and managing its investment effort with discipline on the most profitable projects, and in agreement with the other partners of the project, Total reduced gradually since 2015 its interest from 39.2% to 26.05%. It should eventually settle near 25% once the final project cost is known.
Image courtesy of Suncor