IMPERIAL OIL <IMO.A> IN TALKS WITH SUPPLIERS
Imperial Oil Ltd, 70 pct-owned by Exxon
Corp <XON>, is negotiating with it major crude oil suppliers
concerning the effects of a trial deregulation of Alberta's
shut-in crude oil production, scheduled to be implemented on
June 1, a company spokesman said.
    "From our point of view, it's a question of entering into
negotiations or discussions to make appropriate changes to
contracts to reflect the changes that are going to take place
on June 1," spokesman John Cote told Reuters in reply to a
query.
    Commenting on published reports that Imperial had suspended
its oil supply contracts, Cote said: "It's not a question of
cancelling or suspending any of the agreements at this point."
    On June 1, Alberta's Energy Resources Conservation Board
will lift its crude oil marketing prorationing system,
regulating shut-in light and medium crude production, on a
trial basis to the end of 1987.
    Under the new system, producers and refiners will be
allowed to negotiate volumes of shut-in oil to be delivered
under purchase contracts.
    Shut-in crude is the surplus between the total amount of
oil being produced and the amount being purchased by refiners.
    "We have talked to a number of our major suppliers, and
we've discussed the upcoming change with them, but nothing has
been finalized," Imperial's manager of western crude supply Gary
Strong said.
    Under Alberta's trial system, Imperial wants to match a
reasonable supply of crude against the company's forecast
demand for its refineries, Strong said.
    "We have to know what they have and how that relates to what
we need in total," he said.
    Strong said figures on the amount of crude production
Imperial purchases from outside suppliers were not immediately
available.
 Reuter
