Canadian Oil Sands Expensive to Produce

Operating costs shot up 125 per cent to $38.13 a barrel from $16.91 a year ago, the trust said. Its selling price in the first quarter jumped 61 per cent to $63.66 a barrel, reflecting record high crude prices.

Canadian Oil Sands Trust said Monday that first-quarter profit fell from a year ago as maintenance work at its oil sands project led to lower production and higher operating costs.

Calgary-based Canadian Oil Sands Trust, the largest partner in the Syncrude Canada Ltd. oil sands mining venture in Fort McMurray, Northern Alberta, said profit in the three months ended March 31 fell to $58.6-million or 64 cents a unit from $103.4-million or $1.18 a unit in the same quarter of 2004.