Canadian oil producer Cenovus to boost production 19% in five years

By Rod Nickel

WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Cenovus Energy, Canada’s third-largest oil producer, said on Tuesday it plans to boost energy production by 19% during the next five years as the country's pipeline capacity expands.

Canada’s heavy oil sells at a discount to the North American benchmark in part because of limited export pipeline capacity. Expansion of the Canadian government-owned Trans Mountain pipeline, expected to be completed in the second quarter, will expand shipping to refineries on the U.S. West Coast and in Asia.

Canadian oil producers are modestly expanding output to take advantage of the expansion, which will nearly triple Trans Mountain’s capacity to 890,000 barrels per day.

"This represents a new pathway into global markets," said Chief Commercial Officer Drew Zieglgansberger at Cenovus's annual investor day in Toronto.

Cenovus said it plans to raise production by 150,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe/d) to 950,000 boe/d by 2028.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; editing by Jonathan Oatis)