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To: TobagoJack who wrote (35452)	6/27/2003 7:00:23 AM
From: John Carragher	Respond to of 74559

exxon thinks there is oil in them sands. Imperial Oil mulls major oil sands mining project Monday June 23, 2:31 pm ET By Jeffrey Jones CALGARY, Alberta, June 23 (Reuters) - Imperial Oil Ltd. (Toronto:IMO.TO - News), Canada's biggest oil producer and refiner, has started groundwork on a multibillion-dollar oil sands mining project, the newest of several huge ventures now on the drawing board, a top executive said on Monday. ADVERTISEMENT Imperial is evaluating reserves and project ideas for its leases at Kearl Lake in northern Alberta, which along with adjacent holdings owned by Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE:XOM - News) could result in a 200,000-barrel-a-day joint development operating by 2012, Vice-president K.C. Williams said. Williams did not give a cost for the mining and synthetic crude production operation, which would be in addition to others planned nearby, including Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.'s (Toronto:CNQ.TO - News) C$8.5 billion ($6.3 billion) Horizon development. "Obviously, with Exxon Mobil Canada and Imperial now working cooperatively, we could have a significant potential development," Williams said after speaking to an investment conference. Similar projects involving mining, extraction of tar-like bitumen and upgrading the crude into refinery-ready oil have cost in the range of C$35,000 per barrel pumped daily, putting a rough estimate at C$7 billion, said Peters & Co. Ltd. analyst Wilf Gobert. But he said Imperial would have many advantages to cut costs, such as its Edmonton, Alberta, refinery, and Exxon Mobil's plants in the northern United States, which could be retooled to accept bitumen. Exxon Mobil owns 69.6 percent of Imperial. Canada's oil sands are the target of tens of billions of investment dollars as North America strives to boost secure oil supply. Shell Canada Ltd. (Toronto:SHC.TO - News) recently opened its 155,000 bpd Athabasca mining project, joining those operated by Syncrude Canada Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc. (Toronto:SU.TO - News). Imperial's plans are crystallizing after it swapped leases last year with Husky Energy Inc. (Toronto:HSE.TO - News), which is mulling its own oil sands project for its Kearl leases. Imperial and Exxon Mobil will decide on equity stakes after more drilling to evaluate reserves, Williams said. Reserves at Exxon Mobil's lands alone were pegged at 1.2 billion to 1.4 billion barrels when it first proposed a project in 1997. For upgrading, Imperial will study building a stand-alone facility, as well as piggybacking onto its Edmonton refinery or the Exxon Mobil plants, such as the one at Joliet, Illinois, he said. It will also consider selling raw bitumen. "We're going to do the one that makes the most sense, and when we talk about upgrading, we'll look at how much upgrading makes sense to find our niche in the market," Williams said. "But we think the quality at Kearl is comparable to some projects that have already been announced -- better than some that have already been announced and comparable to those that are operating today." Imperial is also the second-largest interest holder in the 260,000 bpd Syncrude joint venture and owns 100 percent of the 130,000 bpd Cold Lake, Alberta, bitumen project. Both are in expansion mode. Husky is planning to extract bitumen from its Kearl leases by injecting steam into the earth, allowing it to be pumped to the surface in wells starting in 2007. The initial cost estimate for its 150,000 bpd project, which would be developed in three stages, was C$2.5 billion. Husky Vice-president Don Ingram said the biggest hurdle for all developers will be avoiding major cost overruns that have plagued all recent expansions and new projects as the labor supply in Alberta tightened. Imperial shares were up 5 Canadian cents at C$45.60 in Toronto. Husky slipped 7 Canadian cents to C$17.58. ($1=$1.36 Canadian)

To: TobagoJack who wrote (35452)	6/27/2003 9:19:00 AM
From: Cogito Ergo Sum	Respond to of 74559

Yep, a few were spreading the word even here a couple of years ago :o) A little COS.UN now and then for the very long term. Or I guess the much mentioned on CNBC Suncor if one prefers the common stock. There is no doubt that it is a very strategic, I think we need an army again ;o)