ROMA LUCIW
Shell Canada Ltd. unveiled plans to hike its 2007 investments by 48 per cent to $4-billion, as it proceeds with the expansion of its vast oil sands project in Northern Alberta.
The Calgary-based integrated oil and gas company, facing a takeover by parent Royal Dutch Shell PLC, said Thursday it plans to spend nearly $4-billion next year, a rise of 48 per cent from $2.7-billion this year.
More than half of the $4-billion total — $2.45-billion — was allocated for the oil sands: $1.57-billion on expanding the Athabasca Oil Sands Project near Fort McMurray, Alberta; $220-million on Athabasca’s base business; $490-million on growing in-situ, where melted bitumen from underground is pumped to the surface; and $170-million on pre-development.