operatives looks to sell oil-producing business, keep refinery

Fischer Medical Ventures

23/09/2021 18:54

By Rod Nickel
    WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Canada's Federated
Co-operatives Limited (FCL) put its oil production business up
for sale this week, according to a marketing document obtained
by Reuters, but the co-op said it plans to keep its Saskatchewan
refinery.
    FCL spokesperson Cam Zimmer did not comment on the reason
for offering to sell the production business but said the co-op
is committed to owning its Regina, Saskatchewan refinery
long-term.
    FCL, which made C$7.9 billion in sales last year from
energy, crop supplies and food, is offering to sell its crude
unit, which includes a production base of 3,000 barrels of oil
equivalent per day, mostly liquids, and 550,000 hectares of land
across Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, according to
the document issued on Monday by Bank of Montreal  BMO.TO . 
    The bank is handling the sale.
    Also for sale is FCL's stake in a carbon capture project at
Weyburn, Saskatchewan operated by Whitecap Resources  WCP.TO . 
    The assets may be worth C$80 million to C$100 million 
($79.07 million), an industry source said.
    In May, FCL said it planned to cut an undisclosed number of
jobs at the refinery, after pandemic lockdowns hit its energy
revenues in 2020.
    More than half of FCL's revenue came from energy last year,
according to its annual report.
    

($1 = 1.2647 Canadian dollars)

 (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Editing by David
Gregorio)
 ((rod.nickel@tr.com; Twitter: @RodNickel_Rtrs;
1-204-230-6043;))