Cenovus Energy to spend 15 pct Less in 2015

Cenovus Energy Inc , Canada's No. 2 independent oil producer, said it plans to reduce capital spending by about 15 percent in 2015 as oil prices plunge.

Cenovus said it would spend between C$2.5 billion ($2.18 billion) and C$2.7 billion next year, lower than the C$3.0 billion to C$3.1 billion it estimated it spent in 2014.

"We expect to be able to live within our means while continuing to invest in future production growth," Chief Executive Brian Ferguson said in a statement.

However, while Cenovus's cash flow is expected to fall 29 percent to $2.6 billion to $2.9 billion in 2015, the company said it anticipates "maintaining our dividend at current levels".

The company's cash flow forecast is based on West Texas Intermediate (WTI) price of $74-$81 per barrel. U.S. crude , which hit a five-year low on Wednesday, was trading at about $61 on Thursday.

Global crude prices have plunged 40 percent in the past six months due to oversupply and tepid demand growth, prompting many oil producers to trim their capital budgets.

Some producers are deploying fewer rigs next year, while a few energy firms have even cut jobs to preserve cash.

Cenovus, which plans to review its capital spending plans in the first quarter, said it would pace spending on its oil sands projects over a longer period of time to preserve cash.

A majority of the company's 2015 budget will be spent on the Foster Creek and Christina Lake oil sands projects in northern Alberta. ConocoPhillips (COP) has a stake in both projects, which are operated by Cenovus.

The company also said it had also decided to substantially slow the development Alberta's Narrows Lake oil sands project, which it jointly owns with ConocoPhillips.

Cenovus expects to total oil production of 197,000 to 214,000 barrels of oil per day in 2015, compared with its output of 198,000 barrels of oil per day this year.

The company said it also planned to keep its "workforce levels in check", with no new growth expected in 2015.

Cenovus's share closed at C$21.10 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The stock's 35 percent fall in the past six months has mirrored the fall in oil prices. ($1 = C$1.1470) (Reporting by Swetha Gopinath