"Withdrawal from the Pierre River project is the latest in a series of blows to industry reliant on high cost production struggling with oil prices at six-year lows"

"Shell has shelved plans for a major new tar sands mine in Canada, the largest project yet to fall victim to low oil prices.

The company has withdrawn its application for the 200,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) Pierre River project and will instead concentrate on boosting the profitability of its existing 255,000-bpd oil sands operations.

'The Pierre River Mine remains a very long-term opportunity for us, but it’s not currently a priority,' said Lorraine Mitchelmore, president of Shell’s Canada. 'Our current focus is on making our heavy oil business as economically and environmentally competitive as possible.'"

Damian Carrington reports for the Guardian with wires February 24, 2015. [2]