Cenovus taps Pourbaix for CEO role
Canadian oil and gas producer Cenovus Energy on Monday named industry veteran Alex Pourbaix chief executive officer, effective Nov. Cenovus said in June it would replace Chief Executive Brian Ferguson after investors rejected Ferguson's rationale for expanding in Canada's high-cost oil sands. Pourbaix, who worked at TransCanada Corp for 27 years, most recently held the role of chief operating officer at Canada's second-largest pipeline operator. Calgary-based Cenovus faced investor displeasure after it announced a C$17 billion ($13.25 billion) deal to buy assets in Canada's oil sands…
Conoco Deal Lifts Cenovus to Profit
Shares of oil producer Cenovus Energy Inc surged more than 6 percent on Thursday after the company reported a second-quarter profit, compared with a year-ago loss, helped by its purchase of ConocoPhillips' Canadian oil sands assets. Cenovus, which paid $13.3 billion in March to buy the assets, said the purchase boosted total production by 65 percent to 436,929 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the quarter. The deal closed on May 17. ConocoPhillips sold its 50 percent interest in the Foster Creek Christina Lake oil sands partnership…
Cenovus Facing Tough Market for Critical Asset Sales
Cenovus Energy Inc's efforts to sell C$5 billion ($3.8 billion) of energy assets, already facing a rocky road because weak oil prices are depressing the appetite for deals, has become complicated by the surprise departure of its chief executive officer, fund managers said. Brian Ferguson's announcement on Tuesday that he will step down as CEO in October is the latest sign of tumult within Canada's oil sands industry, which has seen international oil majors dump $22.5 billion in assets this year alone.
Cenovus Cuts Some Jobs as It Reviews Operations
Cenovus Energy Inc Chief Executive Brian Ferguson said on Tuesday that the company expects to cut some jobs as part of an effort to reduce costs by C$1 billion ($754 million). Ferguson disclosed the plan in a briefing with reporters, saying the company would make the cuts as it assessed its operations to identify "redundancies" and "overlap" in the company. ($1 = 1.3261 Canadian dollars) (Reporting by Solarina Ho in Toronto; Editing by Jim Finkle)
Cenovus to Face Investors as Shares Decline
Cenovus Energy Inc will seek on Tuesday to convince investors of the value of an unpopular acquisition this year amid continuing skepticism from shareholders. At an annual investor event in Toronto, Chief Executive Brian Ferguson is expected to unveil plans for asset sales to cut debt assumed for the C$17 billion ($12.9 billion) March purchase of some ConocoPhillips assets in Canada. The deal effectively doubled Cenovus' assets, a move the company has said would allow it to utilize economies of scale to lower costs.
ConocoPhillips Sheds Canadian Oil & Gas Assets
ConocoPhillips on Wednesday agreed to sell oil sands and western Canadian natural gas assets to Cenovus Energy Inc for C$17.7 billion ($13.3 billion), making it the latest international oil major to pull back from a region where high costs and low crude prices have made it hard for large companies to make an acceptable return. For Calgary-based Cenovus, among Canada's largest producers, the deal doubles its production to 588,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day as it takes full ownership of its main oil sands assets in northern Alberta.
Cenovus Mulls Restart of Two Oil Sands Projects
Canadian oil and gas producer Cenovus Energy Inc said on Thursday it is doing engineering and design work at two of its deferred oil sands projects in northern Alberta and it could potentially reactivate them in 2018 and 2019, respectively. The two projects, Foster Lake phase H and Narrows Lake phase A, would add up to 75,000 barrels per day of production. That would be in addition to Cenovus' 50,000 bpd Christina Lake phase G project, which the company said in December it was restarting.
Cenovus Raising Budget, Resuming Christina Lake Expansion
Canadian oil producer Cenovus Energy Inc said on Thursday it planned to increase its 2017 capital budget by about 24 percent and will resume work on the expansion of its oil sands project in Christina Lake. The Calgary, Alberta-based company said it intended to invest between C$1.2 billion-C$1.4 billion ($1.06 billion), with a target of C$1.3 billion. That compared with its forecast of C$1 billion-C$1.1 billion for 2016. Cenovus's 2017 oil production will rise 14 percent to 223,000-240…
Cenvous Energy Cuts E&P Budget Again
Cenovus Energy Inc cut its 2016 exploration and production budget again, as the Canadian oil producer looks to tackle a steep fall in oil prices that has eroded cash flows. The company, which reported a much bigger-than-expected loss on Thursday, cut the full-year exploration and production budget to C$715 million-C$805 million, from C$740 million-C$855 million it had previously forecast. Cenovus also narrowed its full-year oil and gas production forecast to 266-272,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) from 258-280,000 expected earlier.
Canadian Oil Sands Producers Mull New Investments
Two Canadian energy companies on Thursday outlined preliminary plans to add new oil sands production at their northern Alberta operations, a sign that the industry may have come to grips with the slump in crude prices after two years of heavy cost-cutting. Cenovus Energy said, as it released second-quarter earnings, that it was doing engineering and rebidding work on phase G of its Christina Lake thermal project, which was put on hold in 2015. It said it would decide whether to proceed with the 50,000 barrel per day expansion by December.
Hurting Canadian Oil Producers Signal Further Cuts to Come
Canadian energy companies, especially those at higher cost oil sands producers, are signalling they will cut capital spending for a second straight year in 2016 as they adjust to a painful new reality of oil near $40 a barrel. Energy executives, coming off a bleak third-quarter earnings season and due to roll out capital budgets in coming weeks, were in a grim mood even before the United States last week rejected TransCanada Corp's proposed Keystone XL pipeline that would have been key in boosting exports of heavy oil from the landlocked oil sands.
Cenovus Says it Has Room for Further Spending Cuts
Cenovus Energy Inc , Canada's No. 2 independent oil producer, said on Thursday that it could cut another C$500 million ($400.6 million) from its 2015 capital spending budget if oil prices fall further. The company has already twice slashed its 2015 capital spending budget to cope with oil prices that have fallen by more than half since June. While Chief Executive Officer Brian Ferguson said Cenovus was comfortable with its current spending target of C$1.8 billion to C$2 billion, there is room for additional cuts if prices continue to fall.
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…
Cenovus Eyes Options for Its Freehold Properties
Cenovus Energy Inc , Canada's No.2 independent oil producer, said on Thursday it believes it is not realizing the full potential of its freehold lands and third-party royalty production and is now assessing options to boost their value. Brian Ferguson, the company's chief executive, said on a conference call the company will announce its plan for the properties in the next three months. The move follows EnCana Corp's spinoff of its freehold lands into PrairieSky Royalty Ltd earlier in the year. (Reporting by Scott Haggett; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
