Canadian Press

Friday, May 26, 2006

CALGARY — Syncrude believes it has found the cause of the noxious fumes that precipitated a government-ordered shutdown of its $8.4-billion expansion in the northern Alberta oilsands, the joint venture’s largest shareholder said Friday.

Canadian Oil Sands Trust (TSX:COS.UN) said fixing the problem may take one to two months, but the capital costs associated with the modifications are expected to be “modest.”

Syncrude’s so-called Stage 3 expansion, which would reinstate the joint venture as Canada’s largest oilsands producer, was in start-up mode when Alberta Environment ordered the shut down last week due to urine-like smells apparently emanating from new technology designed to eliminate sulphur-dioxide emissions.

The shutdown involved Syncrude’s new Coker 8-3, one of three massive cokers used at the sprawling Syncrude site….

…the foul-smelling emissions were believed to be associated with the start-up of the flue gas desulphurizer (FGD), a new unit installed on the coker to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions…. ([1] Full Story — off-site)