Cenovus Energy on Thursday reported a surge in fourth-quarter net earnings from a year earlier as its upstream production rose by 5% on the year to hit a record high.
Cenovus Energy’s net earnings jumped to US$683 million (C$934 million) for the fourth quarter, up from US$107 million (C$146 million) for the same period of 2024.
The fourth-quarter operating results included record upstream production of 917,900 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), and downstream crude throughput of 465,500 barrels per day (bpd), representing an overall utilization rate of 98%.
Moreover, upstream production ended the year at a monthly record rate of over 970,000 boe/d in December.
The record upstream production for Q4 excludes the impact of production associated with Cenovus Energy’s acquisition of MEG Energy Corp. Following months of one of the most protracted bidding wars, Cenovus Energy finally completed the MEG acquisition at the end of 2025.
The acquisition of MEG in the fourth quarter allowed Cenovus to materially progress integration and initial synergy capture initiatives. Cenovus continues to expect to deliver US$110 million (C$150 million) of annual synergies in 2026 and 2027, growing to over US$292 million (C$400 million) annually in 2028 and beyond.
In the 2026 capital budget and corporate guidance released in December, Cenovus expects its upstream production to rise by about 4% in 2026 compared to 2025 as it is completing new projects and adding assets of MEG Energy.
The Canadian energy major sees its upstream production at between 945,000 boe/d and 985,000 boe/d this year, a rise of about 4% compared to 2025, adjusted for the acquisition of MEG Energy Corp.
Cenovus Energy and other Canadian oil and gas producers have boosted their production as the expanded Trans Mountain route has been offering increased takeaway capacity over the past year and a half.
Production in the key oil province of Alberta hit a new record-high in 2025, with average daily production up by 166,000 bpd, or 4.2%, compared to 2024.
TMX, whose nameplate capacity was tripled to 890,000 bpd from 300,000 bpd, was the key driver of Alberta’s record oil production while enabling more oil exports from Alberta to Asia.
By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com
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