Suncor not swayed by TMX deal

TRANS MOUNTAIN DEAL FAILS TO CHANGE OPINION ON CANADIAN COMPETITIVENESS

The CEO of Suncor Energy Inc. says it will continue to avoid spending on large growth projects in Canada despite the federal government’s move last week to purchase the Trans Mountain pipeline system and its stalled expansion from Kinder Morgan Canada Ltd.

The $4.5-billion sale to ensure the project is built doesn’t change his view that Canada is falling behind other nations, notably the United States, in terms of competitiveness, Suncor CEO Steve Williams said Wednesday in Calgary.

“What I said was, ‘If you look at the competitiveness of Canada, we’re not in great shape,’” Williams said after taking part in a panel discussion on how the country can balance economic and environmental issues.

“And competitiveness for me is the sum of all those things, so royalties, taxation, regulatory certainty, confidence in regulators today and in the future. And we need to make some progress.”

He said Ottawa’s support of Trans Mountain is encouraging but its decision is “two-edged,” considering that the $7.4-billion pipeline expansion had received regulatory approval and a private company was willing but unable to build it.

“On the one hand, it’s a clear, unambiguous commitment that it’s a piece of infrastructure which is in the national interest and needs to be built. On the other hand, it’s also recognizing that the normal processes didn’t work very well,” he said.

Suncor is ramping up production of its recently completed $17-billion, 194,000-barrelper-day Fort Hills oilsands mine north of Fort McMurray, but has approved no other major growth projects for its northern Alberta oilsands leases.