Scholarship Donor - AIT

Donor Since: 2008
Number of Scholarships: 1
Websites: Canadian Natural
Scholarship Information: Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. Apprenticeship Scholarship

History:
In 1989, Canadian Natural was an oil and natural gas company operating only in Alberta which employed 9 people, produced about 1,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day and had a market capitalization of about $1 million. By adhering to defined growth principles and through opportunistic acquisitions we have grown to approximately 3,700 employees, production of over 590,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and an enterprise value of approximately $65 billion.

Our Business Approach

We believe that the paths of exploration and opportunistic acquisition must be followed simultaneously. Further, cost effective exploitation of all these assets will generate superior returns over the long term.

Our business model is built on the premise that if you believe an asset is worth owning, you should own as much as possible. Furthermore, if you control the asset, you can determine the optimal development program that meets the Company's needs and timeframe. Hence, we favor high working interests and high operatorship levels.

Balance is integral to the business approach. We strive to balance commodity mix as well as project completion horizons. This provides reduced volatility in cash flow and a strong inventory of projects for growth in the near, mid and long-term.

Finally, financial discipline is required to be successful over the long-term. This equates to being the low cost producer and to exercising judgment in capital allocation decisions. We have a proven record of managing the balance sheet through the commodity price cycles.

Employee Ownership

Canadian Natural's Directors, Officers and employees think like shareholders because the majority are shareholders; either through granted stock options or participation in Canadian Natural's employee stock savings plan or both.

Management and Directors have the highest level of personal wealth at stake of any of our peer group of companies. It is important to remember that this is long ownership and not the value of stock options. This high level of internal ownership provides incentive for management and employees to think about value creation over the near, mid and long-term.