Teck Resources says that everything is going to plan at the new Fort Hills oilsands mine, with production now exceeding 50 percent of capacity just four months into commercial operations.
The project, which is majority owned and operated by Suncor Energy, has nameplate capacity of 190,000 bbls/d. Official first oil occurred in January 2017.
Teck, which holds approximately 21 percent stake in the project, said on Tuesday that by the end of March production had reached over 100,000 bbls/d.
The most recent data available from the Alberta Energy Regulator - for December 2017 - shows Fort Hills at 11,525 bbls/d.
"Systems in operation are currently running well and plant start-up has exceeded expectations with respect to both production volumes and product quality," the company said in its first quarter 2018 results.
"Fort Hills produced 5 million barrels of bitumen in the first quarter, including the production of froth used for commissioning. Our share of that production, including froth, was 1.1 million barrels, which is in line with our annual guidance. Our share of blend sales for the period was 0.4 million barrels."
The last of three secondary extraction trains and the last solvent recovery unit are scheduled to be completed and commissioned in the second quarter of 2018, and total production is expected to reach full capacity by the end of 2018.
Teck said that its share of Fort Hills capital expenditures in the first quarter was $136 million, including $13 million for major enhancements, $5 million for sustaining capital and $118 million in construction and infrastructure costs.
(Written by Deborah Jaremko)
This article was first posted at JWN Energy.