(Adds CEO comment about working with ConocoPhillips,
background, stock price starting at paragraph 9)
By Rod Nickel
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, May 9 (Reuters) - The new CEO at
Suncor Energy Inc , Canada’s second-biggest oil producer
that has been dogged by safety and operational problems, on
Tuesday said he would look to cut costs, improve efficiency and
simplify operations.
“We need to get on with it,” CEO Rich Kruger, a former CEO
of Exxon Mobil Corp unit Imperial Oil , said on
his first call with analysts since he started in the role in
April.
The Calgary, Alberta-based company has had a string of
worker fatalities at its oil sands sites in recent years,
prompting the resignation of former CEO Mark Little in July.
Syncrude Canada, of which Suncor owns a majority, was
charged in April in connection with the death of a worker in
June 2021.
“You can expect an intense focus on costs, organizational
efficiency and operational support,” said Kruger, who left
retirement for the job. “We will become a simpler and more
focused organization.”
Kruger said he could not give a timeline for improvements
and gave few specifics about the changes, saying Suncor needs to
refocus on the basics of running the business.
"It's not rocket science," he said. "It's executing our work
exceedingly well."
Suncor reported a bigger-than-expected first-quarter profit
on Monday, helped by steady demand for energy amid crimped
global supplies.
Suncor last month agreed to buy TotalEnergies’ Canadian
operations for C$5.5 billion ($4.11 billion). The deal includes
Total's 50% stake in the Surmont facility, which
ConocoPhillips operates, as Suncor boosts its long-term
bitumen supplies to replace its aging Base Mine.
Kruger said Suncor has reached out to Conoco, which has
the right of first refusal on Suncor’s Surmont purchase, to
suggest working together.
“We would be a very willing partner that would look to
invest and grow value in this asset,” Kruger said.
ConocoPhillips could not be immediately reached.
Suncor shares were little changed, down 0.2% in Toronto.
($1 = 1.3372 Canadian dollars)
(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by
Marguerita Choy and Mark Porter)
