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Total to invest 1 bln usd a year in oil sands in Canada
10.11.07, 12:06 PM ET
PARIS (Thomson Financial) - French group Total is to invest 1 bln usd annually over the next few years in extracting oil from sand deposits in Canada, chairman Thierry Desmarest told an energy conference.
Desmarest said that by 2010 around 10 pct of worldwide oil production will come from oil sands and that this source of production is set to grow.
He underlined these oil sands are located in Canada, a country that does not pose any 'political problems'.
Total has a majority stake in the Joslyn extraction project in Alberta, Canada, which entered its production phase last November.
The oil major said in May this year that it plans to build a facility to upgrade the heavy oil coming from the Joslyn project.
Total also has a 50 pct stake in the Surmont project, which it expects to start production this year, with an initial target of 27,000 barrels per day and an estimated potential of 200,00 barrels per day over 30 years.
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