Canadian Oil Sands decreased its estimated asset retirement obligation from $1,102 million at December 31, 2012 to $1,013 million at March 31, 2013, reflecting a 25 basis point increase in the interest rate used to discount future reclamation and closure expenditures, and reclamation spending during the quarter.
Pension and Other Post-Employment Benefit Plans
The Corporation's share of the estimated unfunded portion of Syncrude Canada Ltd.'s ("Syncrude Canada") pension and other post-employment benefit plans decreased to $408 million at March 31, 2013 from $438 million at December 31, 2012, reflecting contributions to the plans in excess of the current period costs and strong returns on the plan assets during the 2013 first quarter.
Summary of Quarterly Results
2013 2012(6) Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1----------------------------------------------------------------------------Sales(1)($ millions) $ 828 $ 929 $ 941 $ 740 $ 956Net income ($ millions) $ 177 $ 219 $ 335 $ 98 $ 318 Per Share, Basic & Diluted $ 0.37 $ 0.45 $ 0.69 $ 0.20 $ 0.66Cash flow from operations(2)($ $ $ $ $ $ millions) 275 418 470 245 454 Per Share(2) $ 0.57 $ 0.86 $ 0.97 $ 0.51 $ 0.94Dividends ($ millions) $ 170 $ 169 $ 170 $ 170 $ 145 Per Share $ 0.35 $ 0.35 $ 0.35 $ 0.35 $ 0.30Daily average sales volumes(3)(bbls) 95,683 111,669 113,331 89,597 108,108Realized SCO selling price ($/bbl) $ 96.11 $ 89.99 $ 89.89 $ 90.45 $ 97.07WTI(4)(average $US/bbl) $ 94.36 $ 88.23 $ 92.20 $ 93.35 $ 103.03SCO premium (discount) to WTI ($/bbl) $ 0.88 $ 2.43 $ (2.09) $ (5.45) $ (5.89)Operating expenses(5)($/bbl) $ 41.20 $ 38.56 $ 36.07 $ 50.62 $ 32.58Purchased natural gas price ($/GJ) $ 2.95 $ 3.02 $ 2.00 $ 1.79 $ 2.23Foreign exchange rates ($US/$Cdn) Average $ 0.99 $ 1.01 $ 1.00 $ 0.99 $ 1.00 Quarter-end $ 0.98 $ 1.01 $ 1.02 $ 0.98 $ 1.00-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2011(6) Q4 Q3 Q2----------------------------------------------------------------------------Sales(1)($ millions) $ 884 $ 989 $ 1,045Net income ($ millions) $ 232 $ 242 $ 346 Per Share, Basic & Diluted $ 0.48 $ 0.50 $ 0.71Cash flow from operations(2)($ $ $ $ millions) 363 512 544 Per Share(2) $ 0.75 $ 1.06 $ 1.12Dividends ($ millions) $ 146 $ 145 $ 145 Per Share $ 0.30 $ 0.30 $ 0.30Daily average sales volumes(3)(bbls) 91,259 109,260 102,938Realized SCO selling price ($/bbl) $ 104.78 $ 97.89 $ 111.00WTI(4)(average $US/bbl) $ 94.06 $ 89.54 $ 102.34SCO premium (discount) to WTI ($/bbl) $ 8.51 $ 9.77 $ 11.72Operating expenses(5)($/bbl) $ 46.88 $ 37.19 $ 37.07Purchased natural gas price ($/GJ) $ 3.19 $ 3.51 $ 3.62Foreign exchange rates ($US/$Cdn) Average $ 0.98 $ 1.02 $ 1.03 Quarter-end $ 0.98 $ 0.96 $ 1.04--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------(1) Sales after crude oil purchases and transportation expense.(2) Cash flow from operations and cash flow from operations per Share are additional GAAP financial measures and are defined in the "Additional GAAP Financial Measures" section of this MD&A.(3) Daily average sales volumes net of crude oil purchases.(4) Pricing obtained from Bloomberg.(5) Derived from operating expenses, as reported on the Consolidated Statements of Income and Comprehensive Income, divided by sales volumes during the period.(6) Net income and operating expenses in 2012 have been adjusted to reflect the amendments to International Accounting Standard ("IAS") 19, Employee Benefits. Net income and operating expenses in 2011 have not been adjusted. Additional information on the amendments to IAS 19 is provided in the "Changes in Accounting Policies" section of this MD&A.
