CALGARY, March 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- (TSX - COS.UN) - Canadian Oil Sands Trust ("Canadian Oil Sands") today announced that crude oil production from the Syncrude facility is expected to average about 265,000 barrels per day (97,000 barrels per day net to the Trust) for the first quarter of 2008. While Syncrude has been undergoing various initiatives with a view to achieving higher production, the reduced production to date following the disruption at the end of January/early February has resulted in a shortfall of about 5 million barrels, gross to Syncrude. The planned turnaround of the first of two cokers is still scheduled to occur in early April with a second coker turnaround planned for later in the year. Given the production shortfall to date, we are revising our estimated production for the quarter from 29 million to 24 million barrels and also adjusting our annual production target from 115 million barrels to a new target of 108 million barrels. The expected annual production range for 2008 has been reduced from 110 to 120 million barrels (gross to Syncrude) to 105 to 112 million barrels. The impact of this lower 2008 production on operating costs and capital expenditures is being assessed and updated guidance for the year is expected to be provided at the time first quarter results are released in late April.
Located near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Syncrude Canada operates large oil-sands mines and an upgrading facility that produces a light, sweet crude oil on behalf of its joint venture owners, which include Canadian Oil Sands Limited, ConocoPhillips Oilsands Partnership II, Imperial Oil Resources, Mocal Energy Limited, Murphy Oil Company Ltd., Nexen Oil Sands Partnership, and Petro-Canada Oil and Gas.
Canadian Oil Sands provides a pure investment opportunity in the Syncrude Project through its 36.74 per cent working interest. The Trust is an open-ended investment trust managed by Canadian Oil Sands Limited and has approximately 479.4 million units outstanding, trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol COS.UN.
Advisory: in the interest of providing Canadian Oil Sands Trust ("Canadian Oil Sands" or the "Trust") unitholders and potential investors with information regarding the Trust, including management's assessment of the Trust's future plans and operations, certain statements throughout this release contain "forward-looking statements" under applicable securities law. Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the expected production at Syncrude for the first quarter and the year; the continued work that Syncrude is undertaking to obtain higher production levels; any impact that this lower production will have on operating costs or capital expenditures and the timing for Canadian Oil Sands to provide updated guidance. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur. Although the Trust believes that the expectations represented by such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Some of the risks and other factors which could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements contained in this release include, but are not limited to: the difficulties of operating a complex, integrated facility, especially in extremely cold temperatures and such other risks and uncertainties described from time to time in the reports and filings made with securities regulatory authorities by the Trust. You are cautioned that the foregoing list of important factors is not exhaustive. Furthermore, the forward-looking statements contained in this release are made as of the date of this release, and the Trust does not undertake any obligation to update publicly or to revise any of the included forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
Canadian Oil Sands Limited Marcel Coutu President & Chief Executive Officer Units Listed - Symbol: COS.UN Toronto Stock Exchange
