By Nia Williams
CALGARY, Alberta, Oct 5 (Reuters) - Encana Corp ECA.TO said on Wednesday it has made $50 million in cost savings in 2016, continuing a trend of Canadian oil and gas producers squeezing spending in response to the prolonged downturn in global crude prices.
Calgary-based Encana updated its 2016 guidance to reflect savings in production and mineral taxes, and operating, processing and transportation costs. The company now expects to spend S1.1 million-$1.2 million this year, it said in a statement ahead of its investor day in New York.
Shares in Encana were last up 3 percent on the Toronto Stock Exchange at C$14.31.
The update from Encana comes two weeks after fellow Canadian crude producer Imperial Oil IMO.TO said its 2016 sustaining capital had dropped 25 percent to C$900 million ($681.41 million) from a year earlier. oil sands and conventional oil producers in Canada have been forced to cut costs aggressively in response to the two-year crude rout, in which prices have more than halved.
While much of savings came from squeezing suppliers into lowering their rates, a number of the major Canadian oil producers including Suncor Energy SU.TO and Cenovus Energy CVE.TO have said they think a third of those savings will be sustainable even when oil prices recover. ($1 = 1.3208 Canadian dollars)