Suncor is in no rush to secure additional supply of the base plant's oil sands facilities

Suncor Energy Inc. says it will take more than five years to make any significant investment to secure additional supply of bitumen to replace production from the oil and gas field at its main plant.

The Calgary-based company is exploring options to support the supply of thick, sticky oil sands crude to base plant upgrade facilities north of Fort McMurray, Alta.

The company's Base Plant oil sands mine is expected to be depleted by the mid-2030s.

To address the supply problem, Suncor has proposed expanding a new 225,000-barrel-per-day open-pit oil field, but it's unclear whether such a project would win regulatory approval.

In an investor presentation Tuesday, Suncor executives said the company has multiple options for securing additional sources of bitumen and is taking time to evaluate them.

They said investors should not expect significant losses on this front until the end of the decade.

This Canadian Press report was first published on May 21, 2024.