Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX: T.CVE, Stock Forum) said it is producing oil from phase D at its Christina Lake oil sands operation approximately three months ahead of schedule and within budget.
The company began injecting steam in the second quarter of this year and began producing in late July. Production at Christina Lake in August averaged more than 61,000 barrels per day gross.
According to the press release, phase D is planned to produce approximately 40,000 barrels per day. Cenovus expects the production ramp-up to be complete in six to nine months, similar to the ramp-up of phase C and considerably faster than the industry average.
The efficient ramp-ups achieved at Christina Lake are due to the high quality of the reservoir and the use of accelerated start-up techniques.
With additional expansions and optimization, Cenovus anticipates Christina Lake will have a total production capacity of about 300,000 barrels per day.
Construction continues on phase E, the next expansion at Christina Lake, and is currently ahead of schedule. The phase is about 55% complete, with initial production anticipated for the fourth quarter of 2013.
Christina Lake is operated by Cenovus and jointly owned with ConocoPhillips.
Cenovus integrated oil company with oil sands projects in northern Alberta and established natural gas and oil production in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
On Tuesday, Cenovus was trading at $32.46 a share. The company has a market cap of $24.5 billion, based on 754.8 million shares outstanding. The 52-week high and low was $39.64 and $28.85 respectively.