MEG Energy is a

pure play A pure play company focuses solely on a particular product or activity. Investing in a pure play company can be considered as investing in a particular commodity or product of a company. Pure play firms either specialize in a specific niche, or ha ...

Canadian

oil sands Oil sands are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. They are either loose sands, or partially consolidated sandstone containing a naturally occurring mixture of sand, clay, and water, soaked with bitumen (a dense and extremely viscous ...

producer engaged in exploration in

Northern Alberta Northern Alberta is a geographic region located in the Canadian province of Alberta. An informally defined cultural region, the boundaries of Northern Alberta are not fixed. Under some schemes, the region encompasses everything north of the ce ...

. All of its oil reserves are more than below the surface, so they depend on

steam-assisted gravity drainage Steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD; "Sag-D") is an enhanced oil recovery technology for producing heavy crude oil and bitumen. It is an advanced form of steam stimulation in which a pair of horizontal wells are drilled into the oil reservoir, o ...

and associated technology to produce (heavy

bitumen Bitumen ( , ) is an immensely viscosity, viscous constituent of petroleum. Depending on its exact composition, it can be a sticky, black liquid or an apparently solid mass that behaves as a liquid over very large time scales. In American Engl ...

must first be brought to the surface). The company's main thermal project is Christina Lake. 85-megawatt

cogeneration Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elec ...

plants are used to produce the steam used in SAGD which is required to bring bitumen to the surface. The excess heat and electricity produced at its plants is then sold to Alberta's power grid. Its

proven reserves Proven reserves (also called measured reserves, 1P, and reserves) is a measure of fossil fuel energy reserves, such as oil and gas reserves and coal reserves. It is defined as the "quantity of energy sources estimated with reasonable certaint ...

have been independently pegged at and probable reserves (also called recoverable resource) (by engineering firm GLJ Petroleum Consultants Lt

; That's significant considering only of the of bitumen in Alberta is considered recoverable under current technology. The value of those reserves is over $19.8 billion. China National Offshore Oil Corporation, CNOOC has a minority 16.69% interest in MEG Energy. Within nine months of going public it reached

large cap Market capitalization, sometimes referred to as market cap, is the total value of a publicly traded company's outstanding common shares owned by stockholders. Market capitalization is equal to the market price per common share multiplied by ...

company status after a small cap

IPO An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investment ...

. As recently as 2007 it was a junior oil company.

History

MEG Energy was founded in 1999 as McCaffrey Energy Group Inc by CEO and President Bill McCaffrey, Director and Corporate Secretary David Wizinsky and former Director Steve Turner. It went public with an IPO of $660 million in August 2010. At the time it was considered a $9.7 billion equity cap company. The Christina Lake project first received approval from the government in 2008, it was one of six

oil megaprojects Oil megaprojects are large oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is cr ...

in Canada that year. April 14, 2005 - CNOOC Ltd, China's 3rd biggest oil and natural gas company purchased a 16.69% interest in MEG Energy for $C150 million (13.6 million common shares). In 2021, MEG Energy expanded their facility. In 2022 they formed the

Pathways Alliance Pathways Alliance or Oil Sands Pathways Alliance is a consortium established on June 15, 2022 of Canada's largest oil sands producersCanadian Natural Resources, Cenovus Energy, Imperial Oil, MEG Energy, Suncor Energy and ConocoPhillipswith the ...

along with several other companies. On May 1, 2024, Derek Evans stepped down from his role as CEO and Darlene Gates was appointed as President & Chief Executive Officer.

Production

In 2012 bitumen production averaged 28,773 bpd, +2,168 bpd versus the previous year. By the second quarter of 2013 average production had reached 32,144 bpd, +1,715 bdp. Also up is the realized oil price per barrel: $53.98 vs $45.59. According to the company's 2024 Business Update presentation, as of September 30, 2024, MEG's Christina Lake operations produced 102,600 bpd.

Christina Lake

MEG's interest in Christina Lake includes 80 blocks/sections. It is a three phase project that was operating at 12.4% (26,000 bbls/d) of total expected production capacity at the end of 2010. Since 2009 the first two phases were producing, albeit at a low level because construction of phase 2B (design capacity 40% larger than phase 1 and 2A combined) didn't begin until 2011. When combined with phase three, total production will exceed with 2020 production estimated at 260,000 bbls/d. The pipeline system used to carry bitumen out and diluent in is the Access Pipeline which MEG co owns with Devon ARL Corp. The company operates the Christina Lake Aerodrome.

Cenovus Energy Cenovus Energy Inc. (pronounced se-nō-vus) is a Canadian integrated oil and natural gas company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Its offices are located at Brookfield Place, having completed a move from the neighbouring Bow in 2019. Histo ...

also produces at Christina Lake.

Surmont

The Surmont Project is a proposed multi-phased development with a total design capacity of approximately 120,000 bpd.

Takeover Bid

In October 2018, Husky Energy put it in a hostile takeover bid to acquire MEG Energy Corp.

Initial production process

Initially two horizontally parallel wells are created. Oil is directed to the lowest well after injecting steam into the one above it in order to heat the area so that the liquid in the area flows downwards (allows for the separation of oil from sand). The steam used comes from MEG's cogeneration plants.

References

{{Portal, Companies Companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange Oil companies of Canada Bituminous sands of Canada Non-renewable resource companies established in 1999 Companies based in Calgary 1999 establishments in Alberta