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Osum shares their success

It was an evening spent sharing their story and hoping for the best in 2019. Osum Oil Sands Corp. welcomed residents to the Riverhurst Hall on Thursday, Nov. 29.
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Osum director of subsurface engineering Blair Kessler (left) talks to Brett Rivard (right) during the town hall.

It was an evening spent sharing their story and hoping for the best in 2019.


Osum Oil Sands Corp. welcomed residents to the Riverhurst Hall on Thursday, Nov. 29.


Every year, they hold a town hall, where they update residents on current and future projects, while answering questions.


Jen Russel-Houston, vice president of geoscience for Osum, noted 2018 was one of their best and busiest years yet.


“We just successfully completed an expansion project at Orion. We split Phase 2 into small, smart steps. In 2017, we finished part 2A. This year, just now in the fall, we finished Phase 2BC and that was ahead of schedule and under budget,” Russel-Houston expressed.


Rob Brassard attended the event to learn what Osum has done in 2018, and what their plans are moving forward.


“Osum’s an innovative company; that’s nice to have in the Lakeland. It’s nice to see them do steady, progressive expansion,” Brassard noted.


The comments shared by community members during these events are crucial for Osum, said Russel-Houston.


“The people are the ones who make this happen. The ones who work at our facility, who help us with construction, the design, and concept. A lot of us see this group of people that we talked to as part of our team in really make this happen,” she exclaimed.


As a result of the expansion, Osum has lowered operating costs per barrel, which has set them up for success in the area.


The completed phase had Osum standing up a fourth boiler, increasing the evaporators by two at the facility, and expanding the number of well pairs by 18.


The final portion of the project, Phase 2D, will have a fifth boiler added along with more well pairs, and the rest of the plans have yet to be finalized.


Russel-Houston said when the final phase starts is dependent on the conditions around the market, and Osum isn’t ready to move forward with it just yet.


Once 2D is finished at Orion, Osum plans to move into the first phase at their other location in the region, Taiga.


“We really like the Lakeland area. We like the reservoirs, we like the people, and we like the net-back pricing we get producing at this location. There’s a lot of reasons why we want to stay in the Lakeland, and Taiga’s the asset that we’re going to do that with,” detailed Russel-Houston.


She discussed the oil price differential Osum faces selling their product to the United States, which Reeve Greg Sawchuk said is an issue the oil industry is facing.


“It hurts every time when we hear these companies saying they want to invest, and yet they can’t at this point in time. For our community, we’re on hold,” he said.


However, Russel-Houston was hopeful change is on the horizon.


“This too shall pass, and 2019 will be a year when we get back on track,” she expressed.


Russel-Houston continued, “We have wise and prudent leadership at Osum. We started the hedging program a few years ago. Through 2018, we hedged a significant portion of our barrels. That helps moderate the price effect that we see with this variability, and it protects our business. We’re in a pretty good position to weather the storm.”

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