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Total E&P Canada Ltd. (Total Canada) is a wholly owned subsidiary of one of the world’s largest integrated energy companies, Total SA (Total) of Paris, France. Total Canada’s goal is to build a strong, sustainable position in the Athabasca oil sands through production of our Surmont, Joslyn and Northern Lights leases, upgrading the bitumen we produce, pursuing exploration opportunities and seeking out partnerships to grow and expand our Canadian portfolio.
We believe in the long-term future of the Canadian oil sands and have embarked on one of the largest investment projects in Total SA’s history. Over the next 10 years, Total Canada will make a $15 billion to $20 billion capital investment into Alberta’s economy. In doing so, we will hire more than 1,000 employees and support the communities in which we operate, all with a view to achieve our goal of becoming a leading producer in the oil sands.
We are building a team in Canada that draws on the local knowledge and expertise needed to operate in Alberta’s oil sands, yet also taps into our international experience and successes gained from operations around the world, including the heavy oil deposits of Venezuela.
Total Canada is headquartered in Calgary with community offices in Fort McMurray and Sherwood Park.
Joslyn
Joslyn is located 65 kilometres northwest of Fort McMurray in the Athabasca Oil Sands. The Joslyn lease is expected to yield two billion barrels of bitumen over 30 years.
The Joslyn North Mine portion of the lease is currently in the regulatory approval process. This application is to construct and operate a mine which will reach a maximum production rate of 100,000 barrels per day. A second mine, to be located on the southern part of the Joslyn lease, is in the project definition phase. The south mine will likely produce an additional 100,000 barrels per day, with start-up projected four years after the Joslyn North Mine is in operation.
Upgrader
Total Canada has filed a public disclosure document and supplemental information with Alberta government regulators, which describes our plans to build an upgrader. The proposed project will be located in Strathcona County northeast of Fort Saskatchewan in Alberta’s industrial heartland.
The Total Upgrader will be built in two phases and will coincide with the integration of our various Canadian assets. Phase One is anticipated to produce 130,000 barrels of light sweet synthetic crude oil. Phase Two should increase total bitumen processing capacity to over 200,000 barrels per day.
Surmont
Total Canada has a 50 percent interest in the Surmont leases, located approximately 60 kilometres southeast of the city of Fort McMurray. These leases cover an area of 544 square kilometres and Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage technology is used to extract the bitumen from the oil sands.
Surmont is being developed through a multi-phased approach. Total's evaluations indicate that the Surmont permit has a phased, full field development potential of over 200,000 barrels of bitumen per day for 30 years. Future phases are currently under consideration.
Northern Lights
Total owns 50% interest in the Northern Lights Project. The project is located in the Athabasca region of Alberta, approximately 100 kilometres northeast of Fort McMurray. Sinopec Corporation, a Chinese company, holds the remaining 50% stake through its subsidiary, SinoCanada Petroleum Corporation.
The latest estimate of contingent resources of the Northern Lights Project published by Synenco is 1.08 billion barrels of bitumen, to be recovered using mining technologies. With our long-term plans for this lease, we are in the process of integrating the asset into our Canadian portfolio and as such, formally withdrew the current regulatory application in December 2008.
Additional Leases
We continue to pursue our oil sands exploration strategy by acquiring new leases through Alberta land sales. The Asphalt Creek and Griffon leases are located northwest of Fort McMurray and the Emerillon leases are located southwest of Fort McMurray. Total is currently conducting exploration drilling on these lands. We believe these exploration leases, combined with our current producing lease lands, Surmont and Joslyn, put Total Canada in a strong position in the oil sands over the long term. |
