Sometimes, you don’t need to read tea leaves to interpret what signal is being sent — the message is obvious.

On Thursday, Canadian Natural Resources — Canada’s largest oil producer — delivered such a message while releasing fourth-quarter results, announcing it has cut about $310 million from its forecast operating capital expenditures this year.

That includes deferring about $150 million of spending related to front-end engineering design work for the $8.25-billion Jackpine oilsands mine expansion opportunity at the company’s operations about 70 kilometres north of Fort McMurray.

And it’s occurring at a pivotal moment, when the country’s largest oilsands producers — called the Oil Sands Alliance — are in negotiations with federal and provincial governments on their own memorandum of understanding (MOU) surrounding the long-awaited Pathways carbon capture network.

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In a news release, the Calgary-based company cited a “lack of finalization of government regulatory policies as it relates to carbon pricing and methane, which creates uncertainty and economic burden for long-term growth investments.”

Restarting the work on the Jackpine mine expansion will depend on the outcome of regulatory process changes that could come out of the MOU, as the company looks for future projects to be competitive for attracting global capital, Canadian Natural Resources president Scott Stauth said in an interview.

“We just take the view that if there’s carbon policies or carbon cost on top of the capital, and on top of the operating cost, then that will likely impede the economic viability of a project, such as a Jackpine mine expansion,” said Stauth.

“We understand and we........

© Calgary Herald