By Scott Haggett
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Imperial Oil Ltd
"The refineries we've got are well situated for the markets we want to be in," Bruce March, who succeeds Tim Hearn as chief executive of Canada's biggest oil exploration and refining company at the start of April, told reporters. "But like most other refiners in the world the future is to expand the capacity we have... rather than building new grass-roots refining capacity."
March, 51, has managed Exxon Mobil Corp's
Before taking the job at Imperial, 70 percent owned by Exxon, March was director of refining Europe/Africa/Middle East for ExxonMobil Petroleum & Chemical in Brussels.
"Five or 10 years from now, hopefully we'll be able to point to the growth of our four refinery systems as the equivalent of building a fifth refinery."
March said Imperial will look to improve the reliability of its refineries as one way to improve output.
The company, which has focused on planning multibillion-dollar projects such as the C$8 billion Kearl oil sands mine or the C$16.2 billion natural-gas pipeline from the Mackenzie Delta in Canada's Arctic, also wants to boost exports of gasoline and other products to the United States.
"We've got the biggest transportation fuels marketplace in the world right at our doorstep," March told reporters. "We'll look at all opportunities as we expand to be able to transport some of those products to the U.S. market as well."
Imperial's refineries process about 514,000 barrels of oil daily, 70 percent more than its biggest competitor. The company's Esso stations are also Canada's biggest gasoline station chain.
Imperial, which produced 225,000 barrels of oil a day in the fourth quarter of 2007, is also looking to expand its output from the oil sands. Its Kearl project will produce 300,000 barrels of tar-like bitumen a day, with a first, 100,000 bpd phase expected to be operating by 2011.
Imperial doesn't plan to build an upgrader for Kearl's first phase that will convert the bitumen into refinery-ready synthetic crude.
March said Kearl's production could be shipped to refineries run by Imperial or its competitors, processed at other upgraders near the Fort McMurray, Alberta, site, or just shipped into the United States. However future expansions of the Kearl site could include an upgrader.
"As we get into the second phase and third phase of Kearl, whether we build an upgrader or not is something we'll look at as an alternative at each step of the way," March said.
Imperial shares rose C$1.16 to C$53.60 on Wednesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The stock has risen 24 percent over the past 12 months.
($1=$1.02 Canadian)
(Reporting by Scott Haggett; Editing by Peter Galloway)
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