Cdn. Natural cuts $1B from 2019 budget

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. is cutting its 2019 capital budget by about $1 billion due to poor western Canadian oil prices but it says it will ramp up spending if prices rebound.

The Calgary-based oilsands producer announced Wednesday a 2019 base budget of $3.7 billion, below its “normalized” range of $4.7 billion to $5 billion and about 20 per cent less than this year’s $4.6 billion.

“Our capital program is very flexible and we can curtail capital spending down to the $3.1 billion range and still keep production flat,” said president Tim McKay during a webcast from the company’s investor day in Toronto following the announcement.

“Should prices improve and stabilize, and we see clarity on market access, we would look to increase our capital to approximately $4.4 billion.”

A glut of oil in Alberta as pipeline capacity fails to match production increases is blamed for dramatically lower local oil prices since last fall.

Analysts praised the budget for its restraint in the current oil price environment and Canadian Natural shares rose by about 4.5 per cent in early afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The 2019 budget contains $600 million for longterm growth projects, including the completion of the 40,000-barrel-per-day steam-driven Kirby North oilsands project (expected to deliver first oil in late 2019) and building additional multi-well pads at Canadian Natural’s Primrose thermal heavy oil project in northern Alberta.

Production in 2019 is targeted to be between 1.03 million and 1.12 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, down slightly from this year’s expected output, with a product mix of about 76 per cent oil and natural gas liquids and 24 per cent dry natural gas.