Oilsands Review - September 2006

“Basically Suncor pays Agrium to take their product. It’s a company philosophy—the value they get for it is not the price.”

Canadian Oil Sands Trust, the Syncrude joint venture’s primary owner, announced in 2005 that it will start to sell its share of sulphur. The undisclosed buyer will construct the infrastructure to handle production volumes, which it will start taking near the end of 2007. However, the sulphur will not be sold unless the price exceeds an established plant gate minimum, the trust reports.

Clark says that although there have been changes in the global sulphur market, supply and demand have remained relatively in sync. However, production of sulphur from natural gas processing in Canada is in decline, and production from the oilsands industry could become vital to maintain export capacity.

“The oilsands is the salvation, but at what price?” he asks. “At today’s prices, you can’t do it. [Oilsands producers] have the right product in the wrong location.”