Cenovus Energy is planning to potentially spend triple the amount they did in 2020.
The company released its 2021 budget on Thursday highlighting planned capital expenditures of between $2.3 billion and $2.7 billion.
Around $2.1 billion will go towards production, which is expected to be around 730,000 to 780,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, while over $500 million will be used on the rebuild of their Superior Refinery in Wisconsin which was damaged in 2018 by a fire.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced Cenovus to cut its 2020 budget by around $600 million – putting their expected spending for the year between $750 million and $850 million.
“In 2021 we’ll remain focused on disciplined capital allocation, investing selectively in the highest return opportunities available in our expanded asset portfolio, and we expect to make significant progress towards achieving our synergy targets,” said Alex Pourbaix, Cenovus President & Chief Executive Officer.
They’re expected to achieve nearly $1 billion of synergies which is mainly due to last year’s transaction with Husky Energy. The merger was officially completed earlier this month.
Cenovus is also set to begin cutting between 20 and 25 per cent of its workforce. At the low end, this represents a loss of around 1,720 jobs while at the high end it represents approximately 2,150 positions.
Most of the job cuts are expected to take place in Calgary, however, they will also look at other markets that could potentially include Wood Buffalo.
According to CBC News, the company is planning to start laying off employees next week.