April 24, 2006
Husky CEO laments labour shortage
CALGARY
A shortage of skilled workers and rising construction costs may prompt Husky Energy to seek a joint-venture deal with a U.S. company to build a new upgrader in the booming northern Alberta oilsands.
The Sunrise oilsands project is expected to produce 200,000 barrels a day by 2014 and may expand to 300,000 in the future.
Once everything is on-stream, the oil has to go somewhere. But building an upgrader in Fort McMurray or even Alberta may be out of the question.
The shortage of skilled labour has reached chronic levels.
“Megaprojects, even in Fort McMurray, cannot recruit people and people are changing from one (job) to another overnight because of some company’s pay inducements,” said president and CEO John Lau, who added the industry is short between 75,000 and 100,000 skilled labourers.
CANADIAN PRESS
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