Imperial Oil delays Aspen oil sands project due to Alberta output cuts

Canada's Imperial Oil Ltd will delay its C$2.6 billion Aspen oil sands project in Alberta by about a year after the provincial government imposed output cuts to tackle pipeline bottlenecks.

The Calgary, Alberta-based company, majority owned by Exxon Mobil Corp , said it had slowed the pace of development of the 75,000 barrels per day project, whose first output was expected in 2022.

Alberta introduced oil production cuts earlier this year to deal with tight pipeline capacity, which has led to a crude glut and deep discounts on Canadian crude. The move has hit companies with refining operations like Imperial Oil and Husky Energy . "We cannot invest billions of dollars on behalf of our shareholders given the uncertainty in the current business environment," Imperial Oil Chief Executive Officer Rich Kruger said.

Kruger said last month the company was grinding its rail shipments to a near halt and reviewing a multi-billion-dollar oil sands project.

(Reporting by John Benny in Bengalurul; Editing by Anil D'Silva)