OREANDA-NEWS.  November 19, 2014. Commenting on third quarter results, Steve Laut, President of Canadian Natural, stated, “Canadian Natural continued the effective execution of our proven strategy. Our strong, well-balanced asset base generates free cash flow to fund our transition to longer life, low decline assets. Quarterly production increased by approximately 94,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day over third quarter 2013 levels, representing a 13% increase to approximately 797,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, generating strong quarterly cash flow of USD2.44 billion.

Canadian Natural’s transition to longer life, low decline assets remains on track. The Horizon coker expansion tie-in was completed in the third quarter of 2014, ahead of the original 2015 schedule, increasing Horizon production capacity by 12,000 barrels per day. Horizon production averaged approximately 123,100 barrels per day in October 2014, reflecting the effective startup of the expanded facility. Expansion activities remain on track and on budget, with Phase 2B targeted to add 45,000 barrels per day of production capacity in late 2016, and Phase 3 targeted to add another 80,000 barrels per day of production capacity in late 2017.

At Pelican Lake our leading edge polymer flood achieved another quarterly record, with production of approximately 51,900 barrels per day of heavy crude oil, reflecting the continued excellent reservoir performance. At Kirby South, our latest thermal in situ project, reservoir performance has been as expected. With the steam generator issues behind us, production is targeted to ramp up to 40,000 barrels per day inline with original projections of reservoir performance. Our balanced and diverse asset base combined with the effectiveness of our teams enables us to remain nimble and flexible. The integration of acquisitions continues to progress smoothly, and approximately USD70 million in cost efficiencies will be realized in 2014 due to synergies achieved. As always, we remain focused on effective and efficient operations and optimizing our capital allocation to maximize value for shareholders.”