Alberta-based Osum Oil Sands Corp. said that, by the end of the year, it wants to double production at the Orion SAGD project located near Cold Lake.
Orion is the company's sole operating asset. The junior purchased it from Shell in 2014 for $325 million and it currently produces 9,000 barrels per day.
In October 2017, just one month after completing its 1,500-barrels per day Phase 2A expansion at the site, Osum started building Phase 2B, which will add 3,000 barrels per day by mid-2018. The recently announced Phase 2C will add a further 6,000 barrels per day by the end of 2018, while a Phase 2D that would add 2,000 barrels per day is also in sight, although its timeline has not been determined.
"We are on a clear path to double production by the end of 2019, moving us closer to our goal of producing 20,000 barrels per day at Orion. This production growth will provide significant operating cost savings on a per barrel basis - further strengthening project returns and positioning the Company for sustainable growth in a moderate oil price environment," Osum's President and CEO, Steve Spence, said in a press release.
In the same statement, the miner said it also has regulatory approval for its 35,000 barrels-per-day Taiga Project, a greenfield development located about 20km from Orion.