Cenovus Energy Inc. has reportedly reached a cumulative production volume of one billion barrels from its Christina Lake and Foster Creek oil sands facilities located in Northern Alberta.

If reports are to be believed, Cenovus is the first company to yield one billion barrels of oil through steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) technology. Foster Creek commenced oil production in 1997 as a pilot under a predecessor firm and in 2001, the company was the first commercial oil sands project to utilize SAGD. Christina Lake began manufacturing oil in 2002.

Alex Pourbaix, President & Chief Executive Officer of Cenovus, said in a statement that this incredible milestone represents more than 20 years of hard work, persistence, and innovation by former and present staff members. Owing to their efforts, the company can proudly state that it is an industry leader, its oil sands projects have made a substantial contribution to the Canadian economy and that Cenovus’s oil is one of the most responsibly produced oil on earth, Pourbaix added.

Since construction on the facilities were initiated, the two facilities have generated thousands of jobs and contributed more than $25 billion in capital spending to the Canadian economy, reported sources.

Since Cenovus’ launch as an independent company, its oil sands operations have garnered royalty payments for the Government of Alberta worth almost $3.2 billion. In the last five years, the company has attained the status of being an oil sands industry cost leader, by accomplishing a 70% deduction in sustaining capital costs and a 45% drop in operating costs.

Moreover, since 2004, the company has reportedly lowered its per-barrel GHG emissions by almost one-third. Currently, the production of one barrel of Cenovus’ oil accounts for carbon emissions lower than the average barrel produced globally and is the lowest in the oil sands industry, cited credible sources.

Source credits:
https://www.cenovus.com/news/news-releases/2019/07-11-2019-Cenovus-achieves-landmark-business-milestone.pdf