Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
(Operator Instructions). Your first question comes from Anthony Crowdell with Jeffries.
Anthony Crowdell - Jefferies & Company
I just wanted to follow up on interest expense. You provided 2009 key assumptions first quarter or end of fourth quarter '08. You're looking at 2009 interest expense about $680 million. Right now you're roughly shy of $300 million. I want to know, are you seeing capital spending levels significantly lower than expected or should we still look at the 680 as where you end up in the 2009?
Pat Reddy
Anthony, thank you. This is Pat. Our growth CapEx for the year is actually going to be more in the $600 million range, so a little bit higher than the $500 million that we talked about in our guidance, but nevertheless we feel like the fact that we're a little below 300 million six months into the year on interest expense and it wouldn't be unreasonable to double that or annualize it, and expect just to come in closer to 600 million for our savings on total interest expense this year of about $80 million.
Operator
Your next question comes from Lasan Johong with RBC Capital Markets.
Lasan Johong - RBC Capital Markets
A couple questions. Maybe I missed it, but, Greg, did you mention CapEx numbers for the rex projects, rex offset projects you were going to do and is the CapEx at Fort Nelson still about a billion dollars to 2012?
Greg Ebel
The TEMAX group of projects runs around $700 million. I think I mentioned that, but that's what that number would be. Some of that spent in terms of TIME II, but 700 is a good number. And yes indeed, we see about a billion dollars worth of opportunity in the Fort Nelson region. Obviously, I see that more backend loaded than front-end loaded, but that's the type of number I would use through 2012.
Lasan Johong - RBC Capital Markets
Then returns 12.3%, that's really juicy and nice. Are we going to expect to see that on these new projects that you mentioned?
Greg Ebel
Obviously the TEMAX region of the world is a very competitive one, but I feel good that we should be able to realize those types of returns. Frankly, in Western Canada, I would be disappointed if we didn't do a fair bit better than that 12% type upper end of the target.
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