Forecast - Production | Capital Markets | Capital Expenditure | Capital Expenditure - 2018

CNRL Reports 2018 Spending Plans; Production Expectations

Share Print Bookmark    |    Wednesday,November 15,2017

  CNRL released its Q3 results and detailed its preliminary plans for 2018. Its budget is relatively flat from 2017.

Highlights include:

• Canadian Natural’s 2018 capital budget is targeted at approximately $4.3 billion, $0.5 billion less than 2017, excluding the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (“AOSP”) acquisition capital. The Company targets to deliver 2018 production growth of approximately 17% at the midpoint of 2018 budget guidance with targeted maintenance capital at approximately $3.0 billion, demonstrating the benefit of a long life low decline asset base.

• The Company’s 2018 funds flow from operations is targeted to be approximately $7.9 billion to $8.3 billion. Free cash flow is targeted to be approximately $2.3 billion to $2.7 billion, after budgeted capital and the current dividend, based upon average annual WTI strip pricing of US$52.03/bbl and AECO strip pricing of C$2.11/GJ.

• Overall crude oil and NGL production is targeted to increase from 2017 levels by 23%, ranging from 815,000 bbl/d to 885,000 bbl/d in 2018. The increase represents approximately 160,000 bbl/d of production growth and is largely as a result of the completion of the Phase 3 expansion at Horizon Oil Sands Mining & Upgrading (“Horizon”) and a full year of production at the AOSP.

• Overall production in 2018 is targeted to be between 1,090,000 BOE/d and 1,170,000 BOE/d, with a product mix of approximately 75% crude oil and NGLs and 25% natural gas. In 2018 approximately 55% of the Company’s production is targeted to come from long life low decline assets.