Principal Activities
Total E&P Canada Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of the global oil and gas company Total SA. Total’s origins were in the Middle East in 1924. The Total Group today was formed from the merger of Total and PetroFina and then of TotalFina and Elf Aquitaine, this makes Total the world’s fourth-largest oil major (based on market capitalization). The talent and expertise of over 96,000 employees in more than 130 countries is what drives our growth. In the next 10 years we anticipate to add approximately 500 new positions to our team in Alberta and together, achieve our goal of becoming a leading producer in the Canadian oils sands.
The Surmont leases, located approximately 60 kilometres south by southeast of the city of Fort McMurray in Northern Alberta, covers an area of 544 square kilometres and will use Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) technology to produce bitumen of 8 degrees API quality.
The initial Surmont pilot project was started up in 1998, producing from two pairs of horizontal SAGD wells. A third SAGD well pair was added and started up in 2000. These three well pairs currently produce approximately 1,000 barrels of bitumen per day. In December 2003, Total and CPC decided to launch the Surmont Phase I Project. This first phase of production will test SAGD at a commercial level. Phase 1 production start-up is expected prior to year-end of 2006, with a target of 27,000 barrels per day of bitumen production. A Surmont Phase 2 development is expected to take the total (Phase 1 plus Phase 2) bitumen production to 100,000 bbl/d within the early portion of the next decade. Total’s evaluations indicate that the Surmont permit has a phased full field development potential of around 200,000 barrels of bitumen per day for 30 years.
In July 2004, Total E&P Canada took a 40% stake alongside Shell Canada (Operator, 60%) in a gas exploration permit, covering an area of 240 square kilometres and located in the north-east of British Columbia. This is in line with Total’s intention to explore for conventional gas in a selective approach to specific geological targets in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) foothills and deep basin.
In September 2005, Total E&P Canada acquired Deer Creek Energy, which holds 84% of the Joslyn leases in the Athabasca region, covering an area of 221 square kilometres and located 125 kilometres north of the Surmont leases. By adding to its existing assets, this transaction has brought to Total a significant position in oil sands resources. The Joslyn project provides for a multi-phase development which is expected to yield 2 billion barrels of bitumen production over 30 years. This production will be achieved through a combination of SAGD recovery and mining extraction methods.
Total E&P Canada has also pursued an oil sands exploration strategy by acquiring new leases in Alberta land sales. The Emerillon lease, covering 92 square kilometres and located 40 km west of the Surmont leases, was acquired in December 2004 (Total 100%). In August 2005, two further oil sands leases were acquired. The first of these, acquired by Total on a 50/50 ownership basis with a partner, covers eight square kilometres and is located in the central Athabasca region. The second, of which Total has 100% ownership, covers 49 square kilometres and is located in the northern part of the Athabasca oil sands region.
Emerging Oil Sands Leader
It is Total’s intention that its oil sands development projects will ultimately include downstream operations to further process the bitumen and thus to improve the added-value of the products. Downstream operations may possibly include upgrading in Alberta. It is expected that downstream synergies could be drawn from Total’s equity production from the Joslyn Project, the Surmont Project and Total’s other oil sands leases in Alberta.
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