The latest oil and gas project to be postponed due to COVID-19 is Syncrude’s Mildred Lake Extension (MLX) project.
The Alberta Energy Regulator gave MLX the green light in July 2019, which would extend the life of the mine by another decade.
Syncrude spokesperson, Will Gibson said the cause of the delay is because the company is minimizing work activity during the pandemic.
“It is a deferral to limit our activities to critical work, this minimizes the number of people on our sites in response to the Covid-19 outbreak and conserves cash during the drop-in oil prices.”
The project is a $1.4 investment and at this time Syncrude will not be providing any figures on how long they are deferring the project or spending. Details on financials and production numbers would be shared by Suncor, Imperial Oil, Sinopec and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC).
Gibson said syncrude has taken several actions to prevent the spread of the virus.
READ MORE: Syncrude plans to keep plants running during COVID-19 pandemic
“We’re continuing to put people first at both of our operations in the communities to protect everyone from this global pandemic.”
The company has also limited their workforce to those who are only site critical to maintain the integrity of their operations.
“This is a reduction of more than 50 per cent and represents thousands of people.”
A number of projects will be cancelled or deferred that require skilled tradesmen to travel from outside of the region.
The Government of Alberta deemed the oilsands as an essential service and Gibson said they are committed to doing their part to provide critical goods and services.
In addition to producing oil, Syncrude has electricity producing facilities at both Mildred Lake and Aurora that often produce more electricity than they use.
“The export is exported to the power grid which provides stability and backup of supply for Alberta, this helped during the 2016 wildfire, the oilsands represent up to 30 per cent of electricity generation in Alberta.”
With the reduction in activities, staff and spending Syncrude contractors have also adjusted their staffing levels.
