Increased production, improved prices and strong exports to the United States turned Canadian oilsands specialist Meg Energy Corp. profitable in the first half of 2021, reversing deep losses inflicted a year ago by the Covid-19 pandemic.

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The Calgary firm’s bitumen production in northeastern Alberta grew to a first-half 2021 average of 91,326 b/d from 83,622 b/d in the same period of 2020.

Meg bitumen fetched an average of C$56.30/bbl ($45.04/bbl) from January through June this year, more than triple the company’s realized price of C$15.56 ($12.45) in the slump brought on by the pandemic in the first half of 2020.

The firm credited the gain partly to selling 38-45% of its oilsands output to refineries on the Gulf Coast. The long-distance marketing effort, using the Seaway...