Top Canadian oil producer cuts spending

Canada's second-largest oil producer, Cenovus Energy, said Wednesday it was cutting its capital expenditures for 2015 deeper than originally planned.

The company in December said it was trimming its capital spending plan by 15 percent to $2 billion. With oil prices off roughly 30 percent since then, the company said it was cutting the projected spending again to around $1.5 billion.

Cenovus President and Chief Executive Officer Brian Ferguson said the company has the flexibility to make further cuts without compromising growth objectives.

"Our plan is to continue to pursue our long-term growth strategy, but at a pace we believe is more in line with the current pricing environment," he said in a statement.

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said last week oil production nation-wide is expected to drop by more than 100,000 barrels per day because of slumping oil prices. The National Energy Board, meanwhile, said demand for Canadian crude oil is down because of the growth in U.S. shale oil production.

Nearly all of the exported Canadian oil targets to the U.S. market.

Ferguson said total crude oil production for 2015 was estimated to average 200,000 bpd, unchanged from the December forecast. He said the slowdown in the Canadian energy sector, however, meant reductions in its workforce can be expected.

"We're taking the actions we deem prudent to help protect the financial resilience of Cenovus without compromising our future," he said.