Is Canadian Natural the Oil Sands Name to Own Right Now?

Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNQ) continues to demonstrate the strength of its Oil Sands Mining & Upgrading operations, underscoring the reliability that anchors its broader production profile. In the last reported quarter, CNQ’s oil sands synthetic crude oil production averaged about 464,000 barrels per day – up 13% from the Q2 2024 levels. This solid performance highlights Canadian Natural Resources’ disciplined execution across its integrated mining and upgrading operations.

Backed by consistent plant reliability and well-timed maintenance programs, CNQ’s oil sands business continues to anchor its overall production base and serve as a major driver of cash flow generation.

The company’s long-life, low-decline oil sands assets remain central to its long-term strategy. As outlined in its September 2025 Presentation, these assets are designed to deliver stable production and cost efficiency, ensuring resilience across commodity price cycles. Canadian Natural Resources continues to prioritize optimization initiatives aimed at improving operational reliability and reducing unit costs, demonstrating its ability to extract maximum value from existing infrastructure while keeping per-barrel operating costs low.

Equally important, the company’s operational execution is supported by prudent capital allocation. The second-quarter 2025 Interim Report noted continued free cash flow strength and a healthy balance sheet, both of which provide flexibility to reinvest in oil sands growth and upgrading projects. Canadian Natural Resources’ ongoing efforts to enhance upgrading margins and strengthen integration are expected to unlock further efficiencies over time. Collectively, these factors reinforce CNQ’s reputation as one of Canada’s most stable, efficient, and reliable oil producers — leveraging its scale, technology, and disciplined cost structure to sustain performance through varying market conditions.

Two Other Canadian Oil Sands Titans in Focus

Suncor Energy (SU) has built its legacy around the oil sands, where it was the first to develop these vast northern Alberta resources commercially. Today, Suncor operates major sites such as Fort Hills, Firebag, and Syncrude, producing roughly 600,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Through both mining and in situ methods, Suncor continues to deliver reliable, high-value synthetic crude while advancing efficiency and sustainability.

Cenovus Energy (CVE) has made its oil sands operations the foundation of its upstream business, relying on steam-assisted gravity drainage rather than mining. Cenovus Energy operates key projects at Christina Lake, Foster Creek, and Sunrise, all in Alberta. With its innovative approach and low emissions profile, Cenovus Energy continues to set benchmarks in efficiency, sustainability, and reliable thermal production.

The Zacks Rundown on Canadian Natural Resources

Shares of CNQ have gained more than 5% in the past month compared with the Oil/Energy sector’s increase of 3.1%.

From a valuation perspective — in terms of forward price-to-earnings ratio — Canadian Natural Resources is trading at a premium compared with the industry average.

See how the Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNQ’s earnings has been revised over the past 60 days.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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