Syncrude oil sands project to further cut shipments in May and June: sources

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - The Syncrude Canada oil sands project in northern Alberta is further cutting shipments of synthetic crude to customers in May and June because of a leak at the plant, two market sources said on Thursday. Syncrude will reduce May shipments by 100,000 barrels to 5.3 million barrels in total for the month, and June shipments by 1 million barrels to 6 million in total, the sources said. The cuts come on top of already reduced production forecasts for the facility in May and June as a result of maintenance work that was brought forward following a fire in March that damaged the facility. When operating at full capacity Syncrude can produce 350,000 barrels per day, or around 11 million barrels a month. Syncrude spokesman Will Gibson declined to comment. Suncor Energy Inc is the majority owner of the Syncrude project while Imperial Oil Ltd provides operational support. There were no trades in light synthetic crude for June delivery on Thursday, according to Shorcan Energy brokers. The grade settled flat to WTI on Wednesday, having traded at a discount for most of the month. Trading volumes are currently thin in the Canadian crude market as the trading "window" in which the bulk of activity takes place, lasting from the first of the month until the day before pipelines nominations are due, closed last week. (Reporting by Nia Williams in Calgary and Catherine Ngai in New York; Editing by Sandra Maler and Lisa Shumaker)