Suncor sells of N.L. offshore assets, other oilsands giant bulks up Alberta holdings

One of Canada’s biggest energy companies is selling offshore assets in Atlantic Canada as it focuses on its oilsands holdings, while another is buying up a smaller peer to grow its own footprint in northern Alberta.

The announcements from Suncor Energy Inc. and Cenovus Energy Inc. come days after a proposed million-barrel-a-day pipeline to the West Coast was deemed the first national-interest project under federal legislation passed last year.

2:10 Ottawa fast tracks ‘Pacific Link’ pipeline, designates as project of national interest

There have been questions over whether oilsands firms would be willing to invest in enough production growth to fill that massive pipeline by the time it starts up around 2032, as well as several other pipeline expansions set to come online sooner.

Story continues below advertisement

Suncor sells offshore assets

Calgary-based Suncor announced Sunday that U.K.-based Ithaca Energy PLC is to purchase its interest in the Terra Nova, White Rose and West White Rose developments off the coast of Newfoundland for $1.2 billion in cash.

Ithaca has also agreed to an additional contingent payment of up to $350 million, based on future oil prices, the news release said.

“This transaction further focuses our efforts on opportunities that generate the greatest long-term shareholder value,” said Rich Kruger, Suncor’s CEO.

“We are aligning our portfolio around our competitive advantages and the strengths of our unparalleled, physically-integrated business, underpinned by large-scale, long-life oilsands resources.”

Get weekly money news

Get expert insights, Q&A on markets, housing, inflation, and personal finance information delivered to you every Saturday.

A Suncor spokesperson said the company will keep its stakes in two other Newfoundland offshore oilfields, called Hibernia and Hebron. The sale to Ithaca is expected to close in early 2027.

The company also announced it’s increasing share repurchases under its normal course issuer bid to $750 million per month from $500 million, starting in October.

“In our view, the transaction further increases Suncor’s flexibility to accelerate in situ development opportunities such as Firebag and Lewis, particularly given the increasingly constructive backdrop for the oilsands in Canada,” Desjardins Securities analyst Robert Mann wrote in a report Monday.

Story continues below advertisement

Mann is referring to projects that use steam wells, instead of open-pit mining, to extract bitumen from deep underground. Such operations tend to be smaller, less expensive and quicker to build than a brand new mine.

Cenovus signs $5.7B deal to buy Athabasca Oil

Cenovus is also a major oilsands player with East Coast assets.

CEO Jon McKenzie told analysts on a conference call Monday that Cenovus has no plans to shake up its holdings in Atlantic Canada, where it operates the White Rose offshore field and its planned extensions. It is also a partner in Terra Nova.

Startup at the West White Rose expansion is “imminent,” he said.

“I’m sure Suncor had their own reasons for doing what they did. We continue to see that as a profitable area of the world in which we exist. We understand what our footprint is there. We understand what our competitive advantage is within that footprint,” McKenzie said.

“I don’t think it’s ever going to be something that is materially bigger than what we’ve got today, but we are excited about bringing on West White Rose and look forward to first production there.”

McKenzie made his remarks after his company announced a $5.7-billion cash-and-stock deal to buy Athabasca Oil Corp.

Story continues below advertisement

Athabasca has 40,000 barrels per day of oilsands production currently, but Cenovus sees the opportunity to ratchet that up to 115,000 by 2032.

“That represents one of the most significant organic growth opportunities available in Canadian oilsands today,” McKenzie told analysts.

2:25 Business Matters: Cenovus Energy buying Athabasca Oil in $5.7B deal

McKenzie said the federal and Alberta governments have taken “positive steps” toward boosting the sector’s competitiveness.

“These steps will have a meaningful impact on our ability to advance growth projects, like the ones we are contemplating at Leismer and Corner,” he said, referring to two Athabasca assets that will be added to its portfolio.

Last month, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced businesses will be able to immediately deduct the cost of a broader range of investments against their taxes than they had been previously. McKenzie said that move “is not immaterial” to its ability to speed up growth.

Story continues below advertisement

He also cited forthcoming royalty incentives the Alberta government has said it expects to announce in November to spur more oilsands production.

“All of that fits together to draw capital back into the resource in the Athabasca Basin and probably accelerate growth as well,” McKenzie said.

Under the terms of the agreement, Athabasca shareholders will have the option to receive $12 in cash or 0.264 of a Cenovus common share for each share they hold, subject to limits on the total cash and shares available.

“While the transaction does not come cheap … we view the acquisition as strategically compelling given the scarcity value of top-tier long-duration thermal inventory and the increasingly constructive backdrop for oilsands development,” wrote Mann, the Desjardins analyst.

— With files from The Canadian Press reporter Sarah Smellie in St. John’s, N.L.