By Robb M. Stewart
Canadian Natural Resources set itself a slightly expanded budget for the coming year as it targets a lift in production.
The energy company, which has a portfolio of assets in North America, the U.K. North Sea and offshore Africa, on Tuesday laid out plans for an operating capital budget of roughly 6.3 billion Canadian dollars ($4.58 billion) for 2026 that will take it to annual average output of between 1.59 million and 1.65 million barrels of oil equivalent a day.
That compares with Canadian Natural's 2025 capital forecast of about C$5.9 billion and production guidance of 1.56 million to 1.58 million barrels daily. In 2024, Canadian Natural delivered record average production of more than 1.36 oil-equivalent barrels a day.
The company said its production mix in 2026 is targeted to consist of about 49% light crude oil, natural gas liquids and synthetic crude oil, 25% heavy crude oil and 26% natural gas, based on the midpoint of its guidance range.
Chief Financial Officer Victor Darel said the company remains focused on strong returns on capital employed and returns to shareholders, while it continues to strengthen its balance sheet.
"We are resilient in lower commodity price environments while having significant torque to higher commodity prices," Darel said.
Included in the 2026 budget is about C$175 million of front-end engineering and design capital related to potential medium- and long-term opportunities. The company also is targeting some C$125 million of capital related to carbon-capture projects.
Canadian Natural is aiming for 448 net wells next year across its crude-oil and natural-gas assets, including 252 heavy-crude wells.
Write to Robb M. Stewart at robb.stewart@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 16, 2025 07:35 ET (12:35 GMT)
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