Cenovus Boasts Operational Gains for Oil Production, Refining

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Cenovus Energy (NYSE:CVE) (Calgary, Alberta) reported stronger upstream production in the first quarter, with its 818,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day up 2.2% from the same period last year. The company also benefited improving from market conditions in the North American refining sector, with executives pointing to a stronger operational performance following a swath of maintenance-related projects. Industrial Info is tracking more than US$18 billion worth of active and proposed projects from Cenovus, about 65% of which is attributed to projects in Alberta.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing active and planned projects from Cenovus, by project type.

"By the end of the second quarter, the vast majority of our 2025 turnaround activity in both the upstream and the downstream will be behind us," said Jon McKenzie, the chief executive officer of Cenovus, in an earnings-related conference call. "With major maintenance activities behind us and production beginning to ramp up, we're positioned for a very clear runway of strong operating performance in the second half of the year and into 2026."

Cenovus' grassroot projects in Canada include a bitumen production field and processing plant near Edam, Saskatchewan, which is designed to produce 10,000 barrels per day (BBL/d) utilizing steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) technology. The project, situated in the Viking Formation, is in its preliminary engineering phase. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Project Database can learn more from a detailed project report.

McKenzie also pointed to significant progress on Cenovus' US$3.2 billion West White Rose offshore oil-drilling project in the Atlantic, offshore Newfoundland and Labrador, which is expected to produce 52,500 barrels per day (BBL/d), with a daily peak of 75,000 BBL/d. McKenzie said the concrete gravity structure and the top sides for West White Rose are being prepared for installation. Subscribers can learn more from a detailed project report.

"The West White Rose project continues to make great progress," McKenzie said. "The concrete gravity structure is ready to leave the graving dock in the next few days. That is where the dry ballasting will be completed, before we move the structure to the White Rose field location in June. The top sides are also being prepared, with the transportation vessel now on site in Ingleside."

Among its U.S. assets, Cenovus noticed improved operations at its 80,000-BBL/d refinery in Lima, Ohio, following maintenance in the second half of last year. "That asset has operated really well coming out of turnaround, operating at, or close to, full capacity through the first quarter, and that continues through the second quarter," McKenzie said in the earnings call.

Later this year, Cenovus expects to begin work on a series of improvement projects at Lima, including a US$15 million revamp of its saturated gas plant and a US$3 million retrofit of a cooling tower for its sulfur recovery unit (SRU). Both projects are expected to wrap up in the fourth quarter. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the saturated gas and cooling tower projects.

Next year, Cenovus is planning further improvements to Lima, which are expected to wrap up by the end of 2026:

• an upgrade to its diesel hydrotreater unit, including the replacement of some major components; see project report
• a revamp of its fluid catalytic cracking unit, including the installation of new processing components; see project report
• an upgrade to its isomerization unit; see project report

"In the U.S., we're continuing to build momentum in our operating performance, highlighted by strong throughput, lower costs and better process unit reliability in our operated assets," McKenzie said in the earnings call. "We expect to see a clear runway for our U.S. refining business to deliver higher performance through the second half of this year."

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 detailed project reports for active and proposed projects from Cenovus.

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).