Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On October 12, 2012, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China's (ICBC) Canadian subsidiary contributed an estimated CAD 22,22,222 to a CAD 200 million syndicated secured credit facility to Sunshine Oilsands Ltd. for the completion of final construction of the West Ells project, the funding of the front end portion of the Thickwood project, and program and regulatory development to expand capacity for the West Ells, Thickwood and Legend Lake projects. The credit facility was larger than originally expected due to support from a number of outside institutions, including the Bank of China's (BOC) Canadian subsidiary (captured at Record ID#93852). The loan had a maturity date of October 10, 2013, nearly one (1) year after the closing of the loan, although extensions were possible based on lender agreement. The interest rate is unknown. The loan was terminated on October 10, 2013, after the credit facility's maturation. The West Ells SAGD facility began operation in 2015, producing about 1,700 bbl/day of bitumen until the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the facility shut down through 2020-2021. Natural disasters and other unclear obstacles have prevented full construction of the facility's planned expansions. The facility currently produces about 1,000 bbl/day of bitumen. Sunshine Oilsands Ltd. predicted its facilities at West Ells, Thickwood, and Legend Lake to produce 200,000 bbl/day combined of bitumen when completed.
Staff comments
1. The exact contributions of Bank of China (BOC) and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) to the CAD 200 million loan are unknown. For the time being, AidData assumes that all 9 members of the lending syndicate contributed equal amounts (CAD 22,222,222). 2. ATB Financial is referred to as Alberta Treasury Branches in contemporary sources. 3. The current state of bitumen production at West Ells is unclear, as is current progress on the facility's expansion plans.