Alberta to See $112 Billion in Projects Begin Construction Through 2016

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--There has been a significant decline in capital expenditures from Oil & Gas and Mining firms in Alberta, because of the decline in commodity prices and demand fundamentals. However, there is still a significant amount of project activity under construction and planned through the end of 2016.

Industrial Info is tracking $112 billion worth of projects in Alberta that are either under construction or scheduled to begin construction before 2017. Some of these projects are more likely to move forward than others, as they progress through the planning, permitting, financing and engineering process.

Click on the image at right to view a chart showing the breakdown of projects by PEC Activity.

More than a third of the value of projects that fall into this category are under construction. Alberta is host to 93 industrial projects under construction with a total investment value of $40.4 billion. The largest is the $13.5 billion Fort Hills Energy oil sands mining project. The project began construction early in 2014 and encompasses construction of an oil sands mine, ore-preparation plant, extraction plant, froth-treatment plant, infrastructure, utilities and offsite facilities. The Fort Hills project is owned by a joint venture of Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (Calgary, Alberta); Total E&P Canada Limited (Calgary), a subsidiary of Total S.A. (NYSE:TOT) (Paris, France); and Teck Resources Limited (NYSE:TCK) (Vancouver, British Columbia).

There's another 43 projects totaling $11.3 billion that have been approved, are in advanced engineering stages, and are scheduled for construction starts between now and the end of 2016. For example, construction should start any day now on the $55 million addition of storage tanks at a bitumen processing plant near Fort McMurray, Alberta. The plant is owned by Nexen Incorporated, a subsidiary of CNOOC Limited (Beijing, China).

In addition, there are 160 scheduled maintenance projects at industrial plants in Alberta. These projects represent spending of more than $500 million on scheduled maintenance repair and overhaul of equipment.

More than half of the value of active projects with construction starts prior to the end of 2016 is in the planning stages. There are 184 projects, totaling $59.9 billion, that are in the planning stage, including 73 projects totaling $15.2 billion in early planning stage, and 111 totaling $44.7 billion in the advanced planning stage. Many of these are pre-approval stage projects that are in jeopardy of being delayed or placed on hold due to market conditions--especially oil and gas projects. One of the projects that falls into this category is the massive Joslyn North Oil Sands Mine project being developed by Total E&P Canada Limited. Originally scheduled for construction at the end of 2016, the project most likely will be delayed until at least the end of the Fort Hills projects in 2018.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.