Type | Public |
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Traded as | TSX: ATH |
Industry | Oil sands |
Founded | Canada (2006) |
Headquarters | Calgary, Alberta, Canada |
Key people | Sveinung Svarte (CEO) |
Employees | 60 (2010)[1] |
Website | www.aosc.com |
Athabasca Oil Sands Corp (AOSC) is a Canadian oil company based in Calgary, Alberta. The company owns or has interests in leases in the Athabasca oil sands of northeastern Alberta.
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As of December 2009, Athabasca Oil Sands Corp owns leases and permits on 1,570,000 acres (6,400 km2) in the Athabasca oil sands, but does not operate any commercial developments.[2] As of June 2010, the company's reserves included an estimated 8.6 billion barrels (1.37×109 m3) of contingent resource (potentially recoverable oil) and 114 million barrels (18,100,000 m3) of probable reserves.[3] AOSC sold 60% of two assets, included above, to PetroChina in 2009.
AOSC intends to produce oil through the steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) method rather than through open-pit mining as older oil sands mines have.[4] SAGD projects require less surface area than open-pit, but must consume additional energy for steam generation.[4]
The company's highly-anticipated[5] initial public offering (IPO) in early 2010 was the largest Canadian IPO since that of Manulife Financial in 1999, and North America's largest in 2010 (as of March 31).[6] The sale, selling a 19% stake at C$18 per share, valued the company at around C$7 billion.[6]
The IPO's initial success was attributed in part to AOSC's 2009 asset sale to PetroChina, divesting 60% working interest in its Mackay River and Dover projects for C$1.9 billion.[5][7][8]
Following the IPO, AOSC's share price dropped 33% in the first month of trading, making it Canada's worst-performing IPO since 2007.[9]