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ZT: CNQ declares end to era of massive projects
ZT: CNQ declares end to era of massive projects# ~8 ^, R3 z S3 d9 r
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00:00 EST Wednesday, November 28, 2007; w0 h& M- c! l% H6 Y2 J1 o
, G' ^1 J: @) W$ x z* qCALGARY -- Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. is slowing down its oil sands developments - declaring the era of "megaprojects" over for the company - as it hopes to tame the cost of labour in the overheated construction market around Fort McMurray, Alta.
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"There will be no megaproject. Megaprojects create a frenzy and cause inflation," Steve Laut, CNQ president, said yesterday. "We will not add to that fire."
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9 [) ^) d2 p7 vThe company has nearly finished building its $7.75-billion Horizon oil sands mine and yesterday said plans for two subsequent phases would be broken into four pieces, pushing completion back two years to 2013.0 Q7 u$ [% T' C$ ^' U2 ^3 t
! i! ]6 [' [% S3 B, tCNQ's strategy could become a new standard in the oil sands, where the emphasis on building huge projects has caused more headaches than successes.4 N% r( @ K9 H2 a# z
+ t9 c, @: ]! X' j+ A! P/ a- IA tempered pace in the oil sands was a main message at CNQ's annual late-November presentation to investors and financial analysts in Calgary yesterday, but most of those in attendance, while saying the new plan makes sense, were focused on more immediate results.9 |: b+ C- }: J8 W7 s6 |
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CNQ is cutting back drilling for natural gas in 2008 by 38 per cent, less than previously expected but still significant, with the company citing low gas prices and higher royalties in Alberta.
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# M1 X/ g; C5 C" ^4 t0 T3 B9 [* o$ BThe decision means total oil and gas production next year is expected to dip about 4 per cent from this year - which disappointed some CNQ investors - though the company emphasized it expects a 30-per-cent surge in 2009 when the Horizon project is fully functional.) X9 {3 r# A" j) c
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The stock was battered, falling 7.7 per cent on the Toronto Stock Exchange, a decline compounded by the slide in the price of oil, which in general trimmed 2.9 per cent from the TSX energy index.6 E, G1 I% c# w! C$ q
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"I'm not surprised," Mr. Laut told reporters. "I think the market is very focused on near-term production. We are a company that delivers. ... 2009 is going to be a very big year for us. It may take some time for the market to digest this information but I'm very confident, it's a very strong company."
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In the oil sands, which represent the future of the company, CNQ has been able to fend off soaring costs better than its competitors because of various strategies, such as building an air strip to fly in workers from across Canada to increase the general supply of labourers. The moves have held cost increases at Horizon to 14 per cent - far less than at other projects such as Nexen Inc.'s Long Lake, where costs have risen more than 50 per cent from start to finish in about the same time span.
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But CNQ is not immune. The costs of materials such as steel remain high and wages for highly sought-after workers are also higher. The company had previously predicted phases two and three of Horizon might cost $4-billion. That estimate has been scrapped and no comparative figure was issued yesterday.; _9 J! y$ j" |; ~3 f& F0 C
! X% e9 ]& O5 B w6 z0 v6 [: IHorizon's nearly complete first phase is set to produce 110,000 barrels a day of synthetic oil, which CNQ hopes to increase in small steps to 250,000 by 2013. k: [; E% a$ J7 }' \3 y
( l5 @8 E% g2 N% D4 L0 j"It's the right strategy," said analyst Adam Zive at Desjardins Securities. However, Mr. Zive said the drop in the stock is justified, given that he feels investors had "totally unrealistic" expectations for growth.
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1 R; w7 `& T* y3 uStephen Calderwood, an analyst at Raymond James, said the new plan for Horizon isn't really all that different from previous expectations.+ Q4 X' [4 k8 S; Q2 Q1 K% g: ^
( }2 ]& r4 a- r8 L+ q. J"It's absolutely repackaging," Mr. Calderwood said. "They just don't want to say 'megaproject.' "/ U& i! d2 Q3 u- r
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Mr. Laut said the strategy is squarely targeted at construction contractors. He said CNQ wants to get out of the industry's "megaproject syndrome."
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"Companies that come out and say, 'We're going to do an $X-billion project, blah blah blah,' cause an expectation in the contracting community," Mr. Laut told reporters. "And those expectations, I think, lead to higher inflation. We're going to step away from that."
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In 2008, spending on Horizon phase one will be about $1.3-billion, down from $2.7-billion this year as construction is completed.- D! G5 M5 i# ~: U' b6 r% R
" D* i0 ]( L! V+ J, J* B( \"We'll be able to start and stop those projects if we don't like the prices we see. That sends a much different message to the contracting community. There is no megaproject going forward.". n+ D: w( o) X" t0 A
$ e& Z. G! d6 ]+ C3 Q% x# F) ?CANADIAN NATURAL (CNQ)$ ~0 E8 s7 u" Y7 `
/ V {5 H2 B- G; p" {( O ^Close: $65.61, down $5.44' l' ~- b9 ?/ ?6 n
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