Menno Hilsoff's questions to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNQ) leadership • Q2 2025
Question
Menno Hilsoff from TD Cowen asked about the sustainability of the high synthetic crude oil (SCO) production rate seen in July and questioned what is driving the better-than-expected turnaround execution across the industry.
Answer
President Scott Seltz confirmed that a 600,000 bbl/d run rate for SCO is a reasonable expectation, with no major obstacles anticipated. He attributed the accelerated turnaround at AOSP to the company's continuous improvement culture, where teams are incentivized to find efficiencies, noting that schedules have minimal built-in contingency of around 10%.