Every year Canada’s oil sands projects and refineries undergo essential maintenance known as turnarounds, which often involve temporarily shutting down production and can squeeze Canadian crude prices higher.
This year the maintenance season is average, and will peak in the second quarter with around 238,000 barrels per day of oil sands production being taken offline, union representatives said.
Oil Sands Projects
| Timing | Company | Project | Duration | Quarterly Production Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 | Suncor Energy | Base plant | Undisclosed | 60,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Suncor Energy | Fort Hills | Undisclosed | 20,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Suncor Energy | Syncrude | Undisclosed | 60,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Canadian Natural Resources Ltd | Horizon | 30 days | 89,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Imperial Oil | Kearl | Undisclosed | 6,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Cenovus Energy | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | 2,000-3,000 bpd |
| Q3 | Cenovus Energy | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | 50,000-60,000 bpd |
| Q3 | Imperial Oil | Cold Lake | Undisclosed | 3,000 bpd |
| Q3 | Suncor Energy | Base plant | Undisclosed | 25,000 bpd |
| Q3 | Suncor Energy | Mackay River | Undisclosed | 10,000 bpd |
| Q4 | Suncor Energy | Base plant | Undisclosed | 20,000 bpd |
Refineries
| Timing | Company | Refinery | Duration | Quarterly Production Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 | Suncor | Montreal, Quebec | Undisclosed | 40,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Suncor | Sarnia, Ontario | Undisclosed | 25,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Imperial Oil | Strathcona, Alberta | Undisclosed | 5,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Imperial Oil | Sarnia, Ontario | Undisclosed | 5,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Cenovus Energy | Undisclosed | Undisclosed | 42,000-46,000 bpd |
| Q3 | Imperial Oil | Nanticoke, Ontario | Undisclosed | 12,000 bpd |
| Q3 | Imperial Oil | Strathcona, Alberta | Undisclosed | 2,000 bpd |
| Q4 | CNRL | Scotford | 49 days | 1,400 bpd on an annual basis when combined with a Q1 turnaround |
(Reporting by Nia Williams in British Columbia Editing by Marguerita Choy)