BP 'still committed' to Sunrise: chairman
Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post
Thursday, April 16, 2009
CALGARY -- BP PLC is considering a range of options to move forward the Sunrise oil sands project with partner Husky Energy Inc., including integrating carbon capture and storage to mitigate the environmental impact, chairman Peter Sutherland told the annual meeting of shareholders in London on Thursday.
The British oil major, Europe's second-biggest oil company, said in February it was slowing down the project, which would produce oil from the oil sands using steam-assisted gravity drainage technology, because it expects costs to come down as a result of the retreat in oil sands spending due to the oil price downturn.
In response to a question from a shareholder, Mr. Sutherland said BP is "still committed" to Sunrise, "something that we will take considerable time to bring to fruition."
BP entered the oil sands business in late 2007 with a partnership with Husky that involves combining its Toledo refinery in Ohio with Husky's Sunrise project in northern Alberta. BP has indicated it would like to make a similar move involving its refinery in Whiting, Ind., which is being upgraded to handle Canadian heavy oil.
"The Sunrise project with Husky is a very important investment in terms of BP," Mr. Sutherland said.
"We are considering a range of different activities with regard to this particular investment, mitigating any environmental concerns because there have been environmental concerns through the use of steam assisted gravity drainage in particular, and also we are considering options for CO2 capture," Mr. Sutherland said.
http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/story.html?id=1502867
