OPTI Canada Announces Third Quarter 2005 Results
Thursday October 13, 6:05 am ET
TSX: OPC
CALGARY, Oct. 13 /CNW/ - OPTI Canada Inc. ("OPTI") announced today the Company's financial and operating results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2005.
OPTI is building Canada's fourth and next integrated oil sands project, the Long Lake Project ("the Project"). Key accomplishments in the third quarter of 2005 include the:
- Completion of over 90 percent of the Upgrader detailed engineering
and over 95 percent of the SAGD (steam assisted gravity drainage)
detailed engineering for the Project.
- Continuation of work in seven module yards in Edmonton. Over 150
of the approximately 800 Project modules have been completed.
- Drilling of over 130 commercial horizontal wells (65 well pairs)
to date, well ahead of schedule and representing eight of nine
commercial well pads and approximately 85 percent of the total
Project wells.
- Installation of major equipment at site, including all four
once-through steam generators and one of two heat recovery steam
generators.
- Continued expansion of the Long Lake Project workforce.
Maximum on-site craft labour workforce is planned to peak at
approximately 2,000 in the second quarter of 2006.
- Initial deployment of Upgrader operations staff to site.
- Announcement of future growth plans for Phases 2 - 4 and OPTI's
strategy to reach 240,000 bbls/day (gross) Premium Sweet Crude
production in its 50/50 joint venture with Nexen, Inc.
"OPTI reached several important milestones this quarter while keeping the Project on-schedule and on-budget, including the deployment of the initial members or our operations team to site in preparation for scheduled start-up of the Long Lake Upgrader, which will be operated by OPTI, in mid-2007," said Sid Dykstra, President and Chief Executive Officer of OPTI.
To support the Company's continued growth, OPTI also announced earlier today the promotion of Jim Arnold to Chief Operating Officer and Peter Duda to Vice President of Operations.
Third Quarter 2005 Conference Call
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(x) Conference Call
OPTI will hold a conference call at 6:30 a.m. Mountain Time (8:30 a.m.
Eastern Time) on Thursday, October 13, 2005 to review the Company's third
quarter 2005 results and progress on the Long Lake Project. Sid Dykstra,
President and Chief Executive Officer, and George Crookshank, Chief Financial
Officer, will host the call. To listen to the conference call, please dial:
(866) 540-8136 (North American Toll-Free)
(800) 8989-6323 (International Toll-Free)
(403) 410-9170 (Alternate)
Please reference the OPTI Canada conference call with Sid Dykstra when
speaking with the Operator. A replay of the call will be available until
November 13, 2005, inclusive. To access the replay, call (416) 695-5800 and
enter passcode 3164476, followed by the pound (number sign) sign.
[Full press release at:
biz.yahoo.com] |
