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, union representatives said, and will peak in the second quarter with around 238,000 barrels per day of oil sands production being taken offline.
Oil Sands Projects:
| Timing | Company | Project | Start Date and Duration | Quarterly Production Impact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q2 | Suncor Energy | Base plant | Starting week of May 13, undisclosed | 60,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Suncor | Fort Hills | Undisclosed | 20,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Suncor | Syncrude | Started end of Q1, to last until end of May | 60,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Canadian Natural Resources Ltd | Horizon | 30 days | 89,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Canadian Natural Resources Ltd | Kirby North | Starting in May, duration undisclosed | Undisclosed |
| Q2 | Imperial Oil | Kearl | Started first week of May, will last all month | 6,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Cenovus Energy | Christina Lake | Undisclosed | 11,000-14,000 bpd |
| Q3 | Cenovus | Christina Lake | Undisclosed | 42,000-47,000 bpd |
| Q3 | Imperial Oil | Cold Lake | Undisclosed | 3,000 bpd |
| Q3 | Suncor | Base plant | Undisclosed | 25,000 bpd |
| Q3 | Suncor | Mackay River | Undisclosed | 10,000 bpd |
| Q4 | Suncor | Base plant | Undisclosed | 20,000 bpd |
Refineries:
| Timing | Company | Refinery | Start Date and 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 | Started mid-April, to last until mid-May | 5,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Imperial Oil | Sarnia, Ontario | Started in early April, completed near end of April | 5,000 bpd |
| Q2 | Cenovus Energy | Lloydminster, Alberta | 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 and Chizu Nomiyama)