UPDATE 3-Total sells stake in Alberta oil sands project to Canada's Suncor

(Adds Teck comment)
By Mike De Souza and Nia Williams
CALGARY, Alberta, Sept 21 (Reuters) - French oil company
Total TOTF.PA , which is trimming exposure to Canada's oil
sands amid a slump in crude prices, said on Monday it had sold a
tenth of the Fort Hills oil sands project in northern Alberta to
Canada's Suncor Energy .
The stake in the planned 180,000 barrel-per-day project was
sold to Suncor SU.TO for around C$310 million (US$233.96
million).
The sale, which is subject to regulatory approval and
expected to close by the end of the year, will give Suncor a
50.8 percent stake in Fort Hills. Total will own a 29.2 percent
in the project and a third partner, Teck Resources Ltd
TCKb.TO , owns 20 percent.
Suncor expects to spend an additional C$1 billion on Fort
Hills as a result of the deal, including C$700 million in
remaining project outlays.
The total C$15 billion cost of Fort Hills is estimated at a
capital intensity of approximately $84,000 per flowing barrel of
bitumen, according to Suncor. The project will start producing
oil in the fourth quarter of 2017.
"We are acquiring an additional 10 percent of a C$15 billion
project for C$1 billion," said Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal.
Canada's oil sands are home to the world's third-largest
crude reserves but carry some of the highest breakeven costs
globally because of the scale of projects and energy-intensive
production methods.
As global crude prices plummeted to around $46 a barrel from
more than $100 a barrel in June 2014, operating costs have been
squeezed up to 25 percent and producers have laid off thousands
of workers. ID:nL1N0ZN1JT
A number of future projects scheduled to start up after 2018
have been deferred, but Fort Hills and other facilities under
construction are expected to be completed because of capital
already invested in them.
Suncor Chief Executive Steve Williams said the company could
absorb further investments for Fort Hills this year within its
current 2015 capital budget.
"The opportunity to acquire an additional interest at a
discounted price underscores Suncor's confidence in its position
within the oil sands," Williams said in a statement.
Total also has a 50 percent stake in the Surmont oil sands
projects, a joint venture operated by ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) COP.N .
Spokesman Damien Steffan declined to comment on whether
Total was looking to sell more oil sands interests but said
Phase 2 of the Surmont project began two weeks ago and the
company was "quite happy" with it.
A Teck Resources spokesman said the company would keep its
stake in Fort Hills at 20 percent.
"Fort Hills is a low-cost 50-year project expected to
operate long after project capital is repaid," Teck spokesman
Chris Stannell said.
($1 = 1.3235 Canadian dollars)