Suncor Energy Inc., the world’s biggest oil-sands producer, said third-quarter profit more than doubled on increased output from deposits in Alberta. The company lowered its production forecast for the full year.
In addition to the oil-sands business and natural-gas wells in western Canada, Suncor owns refineries and fuel stations in Ontario and Colorado.
Net income rose to $607 million, the Calgary-based company said today in a statement. Sales rose 31 percent.
Chief Executive Officer Rick George, 56, plans to spend at least $3 billion to boost oil-sands production to about 350,000 barrels a day in 2008. The company is expanding output from tar-like deposits in Alberta estimated to hold the largest oil reserves outside the Middle East. The 2006 production forecast was cut 1.9 percent to 255,000 barrels a day because of repairs to a processing unit earlier this month.
Third-quarter oil-sands output rose 64 percent 242,800 barrels a day as the company recovered from a January 2005 fire at its processing plant near Fort McMurray that reduced daily production by about 50 percent until September 2005. In addition to rebuilding the plant, Suncor added a processing unit in the fourth quarter of 2005.
Suncor mostly uses mechanical shovels to scoop up oil-soaked sand and process the oil it contains into synthetic oil. Refiners use the synthetic oil to make gasoline, diesel and other petroleum products.
