AOSC heralds new breed of oil-sands independents
PetroChina funding to underpin output growth; $1.8bn spending programme to reach 0.5m-0.8m b/d
ATHABASCA Oil Sands Corporation (AOSC) is the torch-bearer for a crop of start-ups closing in on commercial oil sands production, just five years after its launch and only 12 months after its initial public offering (IPO). It has all of the right ingredients: an independent best estimate of 8.59bn barrels of contingent resources in northeastern Alberta’s favoured bitumen leases; C$1.8bn ($1.85bn) of working capital; and state-owned PetroChina as a joint-venture partner to propel AOSC’s first two projects. Potential expected production from its properties is 0.5m-0.8m barrels a day (b/d) for about 40 years, making it the biggest of more than a dozen junior companies that have oil-sands projec
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