There seems to be some good news coming from the province’s oil sector.
Husky Energy reported third quarter results showing $175 million in free cash flow and approximately $1.4 billion in net earnings, which is up dramatically from a deficit of $4 billion from the same time last year.
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“Amidst persistent volatility in oil prices over the past two years and sustained pressure on refined product prices, we have built a strong balance sheet with net debt now in line with our target,” said CEO Asim Ghosh. “We have achieved, ahead of schedule, our target of having more than 40 per cent of production generated by low sustaining capital projects by the end of 2016. And we have many more such projects in the wings.”
Suncor Energy, meanwhile, said it saw a strong third quarter with more than $2 billion in cash flow from operations due to “strong production from our upstream assets, combined with record refining reliability and our focus on cost reduction,” said Steve Williams, president and CEO.
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The company said oil sands assets “successfully returned to normal production rates following the forest fire shut-in during the second quarter.” Production is at 433,700 barrels a day, which is up from 430,300 barrels a day in the prior year quarter.
Another company, MEG Energy, also reported record low non-energy operating costs and reduced capital spending.
Its third quarter saw production volumes of 83,404 barrels a day with cash flow from operations of $23 million. The third quarter production has consistently grown each quarter of this year and is up from the same time last year, which saw 82,768 barrels a day of production.
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“Our quarterly results are a demonstration of MEG’s increasing capacity to sustain the company in a challenging commodity price environment, through continued technological advancement and reductions in our overall cost base,” said Bill McCaffrey, president and CEO.
Cenovus Energy Inc. saw growth in its third quarter year-over-year – this year’s third quarter saw 153,591 barrels per day in production of oil sands while the same time last year saw 146,743 barrels per day.
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Oil sands volumes grew five percent and total oil operating costs declined 14 per cent per barrel compared to the same period in 2015.
“While I’m encouraged by the recent increase in oil prices, we remain firmly committed to pursuing additional cost reductions to position us to add shareholder value regardless of the commodity price environment,” said Brian Ferguson, Cenovus president and CEO.
The company finished the third quarter with nearly $8 billion in liquidity, including $4 billion in unused credit facilities and almost $3.9 billion in cash.
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