XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, ont.politics   
   XPost: ab.politics, edm.general   
   From: "@nyet.ca   
      
   Looks like it.  I mean, if the industry experts can't find the stuff,   
   then there's only one conclusion to be drawn - ISN'T THERE?   
   __________________________________________   
      
     May 30, 2014   
   Total's experience highlights the perils of oil sands projects   
   By CARRIE TAIT   
   French company's time in the oil sands shows how difficult and costly   
   the region can be for oil producers, and how some are willing to cut   
   their losses   
      
   France's Total SA has had a rough ride in Canada.   
      
   The global energy giant has repeatedly stalled or cancelled major oil   
   sands projects in Alberta, costing it millions along the way. It has   
   blown a hole in the ground in a failed attempt to extract bitumen. It   
   has pushed aside plans for two upgraders. And now, it is indefinitely   
   deferring development of its Joslyn north oil sands mine.   
      
   Total's experience in the oil sands highlights two things: how difficult   
   and costly the region can be for oil producers; and how energy companies   
   are now more willing to cut their losses or more carefully develop   
   projects.   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^   
      
   Total's latest speed bump is its undeveloped Joslyn mine, which it   
   shares with three partners, including Suncor Energy Inc., one of the   
   most established players in the oil sands. On Thursday, Total said the   
   project is too costly to develop, and officially put it on hold. André   
   Goffart, the head of Total's Canadian division, declined to say how much   
   the company has spent on Joslyn.   
      
   Robert Bedin, director of energy research at ITG Investment Research   
   Inc.'s Calgary office, never found the blueprints for the $11-billion   
   Joslyn mine attractive. Total's oil sand experience has been shaky, he   
   said. "It doesn't sound very successful."   
      
   Total shares another project with Suncor: the undeveloped Fort Hills   
   mine. While Fort Hills is viewed as a better project than Joslyn, Mr.   
   Bedin still questions its viability. He estimates that oil would have to   
   trade around $100 (U.S.) a barrel to make the project break even.   
      
   This is the second time Total has struggled with Joslyn. It previously   
   put a crater in the ground there trying to extract bitumen using wells   
   rather than mining. The in-situ plan was then canned.   
      
   Total and Suncor last year cancelled plans to build the $11.6-billion   
   (Canadian) Voyageur upgrader. This meant the French company booked a   
   loss of $1.65-billion (U.S.) in the first quarter of 2013. Total sold   
   its stake in the project to Suncor for $500-million.   
      
   Total also iced an upgrader in Alberta before the Voyageur decision. It   
   previously had plans to build a 295,000 b/d upgrader east of Edmonton.   
      
   Total was once viewed as a huge potential investor in Alberta. After it   
   received regulator approval to build the now-stalled upgrader near   
   Edmonton, law firm Ogilvy Renault (now part of Norton Rose Fulbright)   
   said: "Over the next 10 years, Total Canada will make a $15-billion to   
   $20-billion capital investment into Alberta's economy relating to the   
   upgrader project. This is one of the largest investment projects in   
   Total SA's history."   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)