Canadian Natural Resources Outlines Plan to Grow Oil & Gas Production, Drilling

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Written by Will Ploch, Assistant Editor-in-Chief for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)

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Summary

Canadian Natural Resources is predicting a slight increase in overall production in 2026, and the exploration and production company outlined its capex budget for the coming year, with engineering work expected to begin on several key projects.

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Uptick in Production from 2025

Executives at Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL) (Calgary, Alberta) outlined the company's 2026 capital-spending (capex) budget earlier this week, highlighting an estimated 3% increase in overall production from 2025. They offered details on short-term production growth and engineering-stage development on some of the company's long-term projects in Canada's oil sands region. Industrial Info is tracking more than US$30 billion worth of active and proposed projects from CNRL, about 40% of which is attributed to projects set to begin construction in 2026.

"Our 2026 operating capital budget of approximately C$6.3 billion (US$4.58 billion) targets to deliver value growth and strong returns on capital," said Scott Stauth, the president of CNRL, in a press release. "Annual average production in 2026 is targeted to be between 1.59 million and 1.65 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d), of which 74% is liquids production, and results in production growth at the mid-point of such range of approximately 50,000 BOE/d, or 3% over forecast 2025 levels."

Stauth said his company's production mix is targeting roughly 49% light crude oil, natural gas liquid (NGL) and synthetic crude oil; 25% heavy crude oil; and 26% natural gas, "based on the mid-point of our corporate production guidance range."

Within the capex budget, Stauth singled out C$175 million (US$127.3 million) of front-end engineering and design (FEED) capital, a portion of which is slated for one of the highest-valued long-term projects on CNRL's agenda: the expansion of its Pike 2 Bitumen Production Plant in Lac La Biche, Alberta. The company plans to build field-gathering and production facilities and a central processing plant to produce 35,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) from Alberta's oil sands via steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) technology, which will bring Pike 2's total bitumen production to 140,000 BBL/d.

CNRL acquired full ownership of Pike 2 after it bought out BP plc's (London, England) share in 2022; the regulatory review for the project had been paused at the end of 2021, but it was revived in 2023, and CNRL now expects to greenlight the project by the end of 2025. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Project and Plant databases can learn more about Pike 2--including timelines, investment values and necessary equipment--from a detailed project report and plant profile.

By the Numbers

• C$6.3 billion: CNRL's projected capex budget for 2026
• 1.59 million to 1.65 million BOE/d: CNRL's projected average production for 2026
• C$175 million: Portion of CNRL's 2026 capex budget dedicated to FEED development

Hundreds of New Wells in Oil Sands

Executives also said CNRL expects to drill 448 new wells in 2026 across its crude oil and natural gas assets. These include 252 wells at its primary heavy crude oil assets, the bulk of which will be at its Smith and Pelican Lake fields near Slave Lake, Alberta. The program is expected to begin in the spring and run through the end of the year. Subscribers can learn from a detailed project report and plant profile.

CNRL expects its natural gas production to range between 2,477 and 2,577 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d), which the company says is in line with its projected 2025 levels. This includes two long-standing developments in the Grande Prairie area of northern Alberta's Montney Shale, where the company acquired a series of liquids-rich assets earlier this year. CNRL is planning to add:

• up to 19 wells in the Karr Field, to produce natural gas and light crude oil; see project report
• up to 17 wells in the South Karr Creek Field, to produce light oil, natural gas and NGL; see project report
• up to 22 wells in the Gold Creek Field, to produce natural gas and condensate; see project report

These projects are part of what CNRL calls its "highly capital-efficient drill-to-fill development strategy across its conventional E&P [exploration and production] assets." The company also is targeting about C$125 million (US$90.87 million) of capital related to carbon-capture projects.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for active and proposed projects from CNRL.

Key Takeaways

• CNRL expects a 3% increase in overall production in 2026 from the current year.
• CNRL expects to drill 448 new wells in 2026 across its crude oil and natural gas assets.
• CNRL expects its natural gas production in 2026 to range between 2,477 and 2,577 million cubic feet per day.

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About Industrial Info Resources
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).