Calgary-based Connacher Oil gets court OK to put oilsands leases, plants up for sale

Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd. and its court-appointed monitor are seeking offers for its oilsands leases and extraction plants.

The Calgary-based company says prospective buyers have until June 30 to submit initial non-binding letters of intent.

Connacher's assets include two extraction facilities that produced about 14,500 barrels per day in 2015. Currently, their output has been reduced to 8,000 barrels per day due to low commodity prices.

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The company also has 87,000 net acres (35,200 hectares) of oilsands leases southwest of Fort McMurray. At 2015 production rates, they represent 40 years of reserves.

Connacher is operating under court protection from creditors as it deals with depressed prices for oil, its limited ability to raise capital and disruptions caused by the wildfires that caused the Fort McMurray evacuation.

The company announced late Thursday that the sales process has been approved by Alberta's Court of Queen's Bench.

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