Canadian Natural Resources' production averaged 489,157 barrels a day in first-quarter 2013, up nearly 24% from 395,461 b/d in the same period a year ago on record output from both its heavy oil and oil sands assets in Alberta, the company said Friday.
In addition, CNR is aiming to start up a new 40,000 b/d facility in the province later this year, Steve Laut, the company's president, said Friday.
Heavy oil accounted for 345,489 b/d of the production total, followed by oil sands at 108,782 b/d. The company's international operations, which includes acreage in the UK North Sea and offshore Africa, also contributed 18,774 b/d and 16,112 b/d, respectively, CNR said in a statement.
CNR's heavy crude oil operations primarily are located at Primsore and Pelican Lake on the Alberta-Saskatchewan border, while its oil sands assets are at Horizon and Kirby in northern Alberta.
Output from the Horizon oil sands mining facility is targeted to rise to 250,000 b/d by 2017, from the current 108,782 b/d, with the company planning to invest C$2.06 billion ($2.04 billion) in two phases, Laut said.
Besides Horizon, CNR also is developing its Kirby asset about about 55 miles northeast of Lac La Biche, Alberta. The facility is being developed in two phases -- Kirby South and Kirby North -- with total capacity of 80,000 b/d, he said.
CNR has signed deals with TransCanada for 120,000 b/d capacity on the proposed Keystone XL system and with Kinder Morgan for 75,000 b/d on the TransMountain Expansion projects to support the increased production.
"We have been one of the initial supporters of Keystone XL and also have a deal with a refinery in the US Gulf Coast [that] will take 100,000 b/d of what we plan to transport through that pipeline," Laut said. He did not identify the refinery.
CNR also produced an average 1.15 Bcf/d of natural gas, down about 12% from 1.28 Bcf/d in the same period a year ago primarily because of lower prices, he said.
CNR's adjusted net earnings were C$401 million, up from C$300 million in the same period last year.
