Suncor provides details on worker death; CEO says recent incidents ‘not acceptable’

CALGARY - The chief govt of Suncor Power Inc. says the corporate should do extra to enhance office security after a truck crash earlier this month resulted within the demise of a contractor on the firm’s Base Mine web site close to Fort McMurray, Alta.

Mark Little, CEO of the Calgary-based firm, known as the fatality — together with two different operational incidents in December that negatively affected Suncor’s manufacturing volumes — “unacceptable.”

“I'm deeply upset by these occasions and I'm dedicated to implementing corrective actions, persevering with to strengthen our processes and accountability, and to bettering Suncor’s efficiency,” Little mentioned in a information launch.

Suncor launched extra particulars Tuesday concerning the office demise, which occurred on Jan. 6 and was publicly disclosed by the corporate that day.

The corporate says one heavy haul truck rear-ended a second heavy haul truck whereas they have been each driving up a mine haul ramp.

The 2 staff within the truck that was hit from behind sustained minor accidents whereas the motive force of the opposite truck died. The employee who died was a contract employee employed by North American Development Group Ltd.

The Jan. 6 occasion marks the fourth office demise at a Suncor facility since late 2020, mentioned Scotiabank analyst Jason Bouvier in a observe.

Additionally on Tuesday, Suncor reported two different operational incidents that it says resulted in a manufacturing lack of about 195,000 barrels per day within the final half of December.

One of many incidents concerned gear failure on the Syncrude Mildred Lake mine web site. The mandatory restore work took three weeks as an alternative of an estimated one week due to excessive chilly climate, the corporate says.

The second incident concerned furnace failures on the firm’s Firebag in situ operation, which resulted within the short-term shutdown of roughly 170 wells. Suncor attributed this incident to excessive chilly as effectively, and mentioned Tuesday it's now conducting an investigation to make sure its winterization program is “sufficiently sturdy to resist prolonged durations of chilly climate.”

Each the Syncrude and Firebag belongings have since returned to regular manufacturing ranges, Suncor mentioned. However attributable to lowered manufacturing over the last half of December, the corporate’s 2021 annual manufacturing was 732,000 barrels per day, or roughly 1 per cent beneath its steerage vary of 740,000 barrels per day.

Richard Masson, govt fellow with the College of Calgary’s Faculty of Public Coverage, mentioned it’s clear from Little’s feedback that he's sad with current occasions involving the corporate and needs it communicated each internally and externally that issues should change.

“The message and tone that comes from the highest is essential in ensuring the crew is aware of the priorities they should concentrate on,” Masson mentioned.

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed Jan. 18, 2022.

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