CALGARY, Alberta - Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Tuesday its 155,000 barrel per day Scotford oil sands upgrader near Edmonton, Alberta, is operating at reduced levels as the company completes maintenance work on one of the facility's units.
Randy Provencal, a spokesman for Shell, the No. 3 oil sands producer, said the work is expected to be completed by the end of the month and the company is producing more heavy oil than usual. He declined to say how much the upgrader was producing.
"This stems from an outage that started in mid November with some maintenance work that was required on one of the trains of the (residue hydroconversion unit)," Provencal said. "We're expecting to have that unit back in service by the end of the month."
A residue hydroconversion unit helps converts bitumen mined from the oil sands into lighter, more valuable grades of oil.
Oil sands upgraders are complex and technically challenging to operate, often subject to operating difficulties. Indeed Suncor Energy Inc (SU.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the No, 2 oil sands producer, said on Monday that its oil sands upgrader was also operating at reduced rates as it repaired damage from a small fire.
Shell said that because of the upgrader work, it has also cut back production at its oil sands mining operation near Fort McMurray, Alberta. The company has a 60 percent stake in the mine and upgrader, with Chevron Corp and Marathon Oil Corp each holding a 20 percent share.
The company's wholly owned 98,000 bpd Scotford refinery, which relies on the upgrader for feedstock, has secured outside supplies, Provencal said.
Randy Provencal, a spokesman for Shell, the No. 3 oil sands producer, said the work is expected to be completed by the end of the month and the company is producing more heavy oil than usual. He declined to say how much the upgrader was producing.
"This stems from an outage that started in mid November with some maintenance work that was required on one of the trains of the (residue hydroconversion unit)," Provencal said. "We're expecting to have that unit back in service by the end of the month."
A residue hydroconversion unit helps converts bitumen mined from the oil sands into lighter, more valuable grades of oil.
Oil sands upgraders are complex and technically challenging to operate, often subject to operating difficulties. Indeed Suncor Energy Inc (SU.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the No, 2 oil sands producer, said on Monday that its oil sands upgrader was also operating at reduced rates as it repaired damage from a small fire.
Shell said that because of the upgrader work, it has also cut back production at its oil sands mining operation near Fort McMurray, Alberta. The company has a 60 percent stake in the mine and upgrader, with Chevron Corp and Marathon Oil Corp each holding a 20 percent share.
The company's wholly owned 98,000 bpd Scotford refinery, which relies on the upgrader for feedstock, has secured outside supplies, Provencal said.
