April 15 (Bloomberg) -- Petro-Canada, the Canadian oil company being being acquired by Suncor Energy Inc. for C$18.8 billion ($15.6 billion), plans to fire about 200 employees working on its stalled Fort Hills oil-sands project.

Between 50 and 100 contractors working on the project will also be cut, Ken Hall, a spokesman for Petro-Canada, said today in a telephone interview. The Calgary-based company shelved the C$25.3 billion oil-sands mining and refining project in November because of rising costs and plunging oil prices.

The project is on hold until after the completion of the acquisition by Suncor, which is expected at the end of the third quarter, Hall said. Fort Hills was forecast to produce 180,000 barrels of oil a day by 2015.

Petro-Canada owns 60 percent of the Fort Hills project and is its operator. UTS Energy Inc. and miner Teck Cominco Ltd. each owns 20 percent. Total SA has made a C$830 million takeover bid for UTS to increase its oil-sands output.

Petro-Canada fell 39 cents to C$37.31 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gene Laverty in Calgary at glaverty@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 15, 2009 16:52 EDT