Plans for a new oilsands mine that were deferred two years ago may soon be back on the table.

That’s because the asset’s new owner sees an opportunity to integrate those plans with its existing operations.

When Canadian Natural Resources purchased the majority stake in the Athabasca Oil Sands Project (AOSP) from Shell and Marathon earlier this year, the deal also included Pierre River.

Shell withdrew its regulatory application for a proposed 200,000-bbl/d project at Pierre River in early 2015, stating its focus would be instead on making its existing operations more competitive.

Canadian Natural Resources, which operates the Horizon mine and upgrader nearby, says integration of the assets will deliver strong results.

“We see many opportunities at both Albian and Horizon, and the combination of the two,” executive vice-president Scott Stauth told the company’s investor open house in Toronto on Tuesday.

“In terms of future adding-value opportunities, we see significant value in the development of the Pierre River mine we acquired, which is adjacent to Horizon, by utilizing Horizon infrastructure.”

In the near-term, Canadian Natural is looking at deploying the bitumen extraction technology that is used at the AOSP to produce up to 40,000 additional bbls/d of diluted bitumen (instead of upgraded synthetic crude oil) at Horizon.

This project could receive corporate go ahead near the end of next year, Stauth said.

“We will take our time in 2018 to evaluate all of the opportunities…we’ll high-grade them and prepare to execute.”