The president of Shell Canada, a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell, is stepping down at the end of this year, less than one month after the company cancelled a major oil sands project in northern Alberta.
In a statement released on Nov. 16, Shell said that Lorraine Mitchelmore, who spent six years as Shell Canada's president and country chair, will be replaced on Jan. 1 by Michael Crothers, who will retain his current role as vice president of Unconventionals North America.
Last month, Shell pulled the plug on its 80,000-barrel-per-day Carmon Creek project, citing "current uncertainties" and lack of infrastructure to move Canadian crude to market.
A spokesman for Shell Canada said Mitchelmore's departure had nothing to do with the decision to halt Carmon Creek.
Mitchelmore said, "My choice to move on to new opportunities is largely driven by my desire to spend more time with my two young daughters."
Earlier this month the company launched the Quest project at its Scotford upgrader in northern Alberta, the first in the oil sands to capture and bury carbon emissions.
Her departure comes as the Canadian oil industry grapples with a prolonged global crude price slump, royalty and climate change policy reviews by the Alberta government and the U.S. rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline.
Mitchelmore said Shell and Canada's energy industry are well-positioned to face the future.
Her replacement Crothers, a native of Calgary, trained as a chemical engineer and previously worked as Shell's venture manager and country chair in Ireland.
Before that he spent 10 years in Shell's oil sands operations, including a stint as general manager of the Scotford upgrader, which processes mined bitumen into refinery-ready synthetic crude.
Recommended Reading
Deepwater Roundup 2024: Offshore Europe, Middle East
2024-04-16 - Part three of Hart Energy’s 2024 Deepwater Roundup takes a look at Europe and the Middle East. Aphrodite, Cyprus’ first offshore project looks to come online in 2027 and Phase 2 of TPAO-operated Sakarya Field looks to come onstream the following year.
Deepwater Roundup 2024: Offshore Africa
2024-04-02 - Offshore Africa, new projects are progressing, with a number of high-reserve offshore developments being planned in countries not typically known for deepwater activity, such as Phase 2 of the Baleine project on the Ivory Coast.
E&P Highlights: Jan. 29, 2024
2024-01-29 - Here’s a roundup of the latest E&P headlines, including activity at the Ichthys Field offshore Australia and new contract awards.
Deepwater Roundup 2024: Offshore Australasia, Surrounding Areas
2024-04-09 - Projects in Australia and Asia are progressing in part two of Hart Energy's 2024 Deepwater Roundup. Deepwater projects in Vietnam and Australia look to yield high reserves, while a project offshore Malaysia looks to will be developed by an solar panel powered FPSO.
Sangomar FPSO Arrives Offshore Senegal
2024-02-13 - Woodside’s Sangomar Field on track to start production in mid-2024.