(Adds details, Greenpeace quote)
By Nia Williams
Feb 15 (Reuters) - Canada's Suncor Energy on
Wednesday said it is weighing options for replacing around
200,000 barrels per day of raw bitumen supply from its largest
oil sands mine, which is set to run out by the mid-2030s.
Base Mine, situated just north of the oil sands hub of Fort
McMurray, feeds two upgraders at Suncor's Base Plant in northern
Alberta that produce roughly 350,000 barrels per day of
high-value synthetic crude.
Suncor's plans to replace the depleting reserves ran into
political hurdles last year, when the federal government warned
the company that its initial proposal to extend Base Mine would
not pass an environmental review because projected carbon
emissions were too high.
Suncor continues to work on a regulatory application for the
extension project and is also looking at other options, interim
Chief Executive Kris Smith told analysts on call to discuss
earnings.
These include developing thermal oil sands projects just
east of Base Plant, increasing production from its Firebag
project nearby and boosting supply from its Fort Hills mine,
which is linked to Base Plant via a 40,000 barrel-per-day
pipeline.
"It's too early to call in terms of which horse is in the
lead race but those options are being worked very hard," Smith
said.
Last October, Suncor agreed to buy a larger stake in the
Fort Hills oil sands mine from Teck Resources , which
analysts said was a sign the company was looking for
alternatives to extending Base Mine.
The Canadian government recently released draft guidance on
requiring "best-in-class" emissions intensity for future oil and
gas projects that require a federal impact assessment.
If Suncor can acquire fresh reserves to feed the upgraders
from existing projects, like Fort Hills or Firebag, it could
avoid an impact assessment, said Keith Stewart, senior energy
strategist at Greenpeace Canada.
Smith said Suncor's focus is on keeping the upgraders full,
and the choice would come down to the most economic way to do
that. The company expects to land on one of the options over the
next 24 months, he added.
Calgary-based Suncor reported a better-than-expected
fourth-quarter profit of C$2.76 billion on Tuesday, helped by
higher crude prices and tightened global supply.
The company said a decision on who will replace former CEO
Mark Little would be coming very soon. Little resigned last year
after a string of fatalities on Suncor sites.
The company's shares were up 1.4% at C$47.03 on the Toronto
Stock Exchange.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Canada's Suncor beats quarterly profit estimates on higher crude
prices TotalEnergies buys extra Canada oil sands project stake,
squeezing Suncor Ottawa and Alberta clash over who must pay to lift Canada's
carbon capture credits CEO of Canada's Suncor Energy steps down after latest site
fatality ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Nia Williams
Editing by Nick Zieminski and Bill Berkrot)
Messaging: nia.williams.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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