HOUSTON, September 29, 2005 -- ConocoPhillips [NYSE:COP] today announced a license agreement with Suncor Energy Inc. for a large, grassroots delayed coking unit that is planned to be installed at its Fort McMurray Oil Sands Upgrader Facility in northern Alberta, Canada. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Construction of the new coking unit is part of Suncor’s Voyageur growth strategy, a large, multi-phased plan designed to increase the company’s current oil sands upgrader production capacity of approximately 225,000 barrels per day (BPD) to between 500,000 to 550,000 BPD in 2010 to 2012. Portions of the Suncor Voyageur strategy remain subject to its Board of Directors and regulatory approval.
The new coking unit will utilize ConocoPhillips' proprietary ThruPlus® Delayed Coking Technology to maximize the production of liquid products derived from Suncor's Athabasca Bitumen. Suncor recovers bitumen from oil sand and upgrades it to refinery-ready feedstock and diesel fuel. It will be the third coker at the Fort McMurray upgrading facility to use ConocoPhillips’ ThruPlus Coking Process. Further, the new coking unit will utilize some of the world’s largest coke drums.
ConocoPhillips' ThruPlus Coking Process is an advanced thermal process for upgrading low-value, heavy hydrocarbon residues into high-value, light hydrocarbon liquids. The process has a proven track record of safety and environmental advancements, and achieves higher unit throughput, higher liquid yields and improved unit reliability for both grassroots facilities and existing coking units.
ConocoPhillips is an integrated petroleum company with interests around the world. For more information, go to
www.conocophillips.com.
Suncor Energy Inc. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Suncor’s oil sands business located near Fort McMurray, Alberta, extracts and upgrades oil sands and markets refinery feedstock and diesel fuel, while operations throughout Western Canada produce natural gas. Suncor operates a refining and marketing business in Ontario with retail distribution under the Sunoco brand. U.S.A. downstream assets include refining operations in Colorado and retail sales in the Denver area under the Phillips 66 brand. Suncor’s common shares (symbol: SU) are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.