All-in CAPEX range
C$
350
–
550
M
Midpoint C$450 M
· C$7,000–11,000 / bpd
ISBL process unit
C$
123
–
248
M
All-in processing cost
C$
6.5
–
9.0
/bbl
OPEX + capital recovery
Build vs buy signal
Favour buy
Marginal
Favour build
Need ~C$6–9/bbl light-diluent premium to justify
Process configuration
Two-cut diluent splitter · ~50/50 volumetric cut on CRW
25.0 kb/d light
25.0 kb/d heavy
CAPEX breakdown
ISBL vs tankage / utilities / offsites / owner’s costs
Unit cost vs capacity
Economy of scale · six-tenths rule on process share
Benchmark comparison
Escalated 2026 CAD · before / after Alberta factor
Unit economics waterfall
C$/bbl at selected capacity & utilization
What drives the number
From the Aug 2026 Alberta benchmarking study
Process unit is the minority
Magellan disclosed ~65% of spend was terminal infrastructure. ISBL is only ~35–45% of all-in CAPEX.
Two-cut is the base case
Single column + stabilizer + VRU at C$7–11k/bpd. Multi-cut only if naphtha/middle-distillate outlets justify +C$200–300M.
Economics are usually marginal
All-in processing ~C$6–9/bbl often exceeds the light-cut premium on already-light CRW (~58 °API).
Build only with commercial cover
Captive denser feed + firm light-cut offtake + heavy home — ideally long-term take-or-pay tolling.