Production could resume at Canadian Natural's Horizon oil sands

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNQ.TO) said on Monday it could resume limited production at its Horizon oil sands plant after determining that key parts of its upgrader may still be able to function following a fire last week.

The company, Canada's No. 1 independent oil explorer and producer, said in a release there is "a possibility" that two of four drums in its coker unit have been only slightly damaged in a Thursday fire that forced the company to halt production at the 110,000-barrel-a-day facility.

It did not provide any specific estimate on when production might resume should the damage to the two drums prove minimal.

The coker is a key part of Horizon's upgrader, a plant that converts tar-like bitumen stripped from the oil sands into refinery-ready synthetic crude oil. The company said the fire, which injured five workers, primarily damaged one coker drum.

"Although it is too early to conclusively determine at this stage, there is the possibility that two of the four coke drums could be started up in a shorter-time frame allowing the Horizon plant to run at production rates roughly half of target capability until the repairs to the other coke drums, cutting deck and derrick infrastructure is completed," the company said in its release.

Canadian Natural said government investigators have allowed its workers access to parts of the upgrader to ensure the facility isn't damaged by the harsh winter temperatures of northern Alberta while it is shut down.

It also said it has already begun looking for replacement parts and will use the downtime to carry out planned maintenance work.

Canadian Natural shares, which fell 5.5 percent on Friday following the fire, rose 73 Canadian cents, or 1.8 percent, to C$41.33 midmorning on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

From Reuters