Royal Dutch Shell PLC has reported that it will be stopping all work on its Pierre River mine in the northern Alberta oil sands. There is no word on when it can revive its blueprints.
According to the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, Shell is halting development of the proposed 200,000-barrel-a-day mine because it wants to re-evaluate “the timing of various asset developments with a focus on maintaining a competitive business and successful delivery of near-term growth projects.”
Under the guidance of new Chief Executive, Ben Van Beurden, the company has pledged to invest carefully to win back investors who were upset at rising costs and what were considered to be lavish spending plans. This year, the company also cancelled plans to drill in the Alaskan Arctic and postponed the development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) venture offshore of Australia.
A company spokesman in Calgary issued a comment stating that the company is choosing to focus on “more imminent” growth opportunities in Canada. For instance, Shell and partners Chevron Corp. and Marathon Oil Corp. are moving ahead to boost output at their Jack Pine bitumen mine by 50 percent to 300,000 barrels a day, despite facing a court challenge from First Nations, which is yet to be resolved.