WE WANT TO SEE THE CERTAINTY OF THE PIPELINES GOING IN...

getting pipelines built.”

The issue was highlighted just as the conference kicked off this week, when the International Energy Agency released its fiveyear oil outlook on Monday and predicted Canadian oil supply growth would be restrained by full export pipelines Mark Little COO Mark Little countered that view in an interview Tuesday, and said the situation in Canada will improve. “The pipeline isn’t built but we do view that certainty continues to increase with this.

“We’re seeing it with actions with the Alberta government. We’re seeing the resolve of the federal government,” Little said.

Suncor, he said, has also secured all the pipeline space it currently needs to move its oil out of Western Canada and to the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Despite Suncor’s optimism, has indicated it would not proceed with new growth projects in the oilsands until additional export pipelines are built.

“We want to see the certainty of the pipelines going in before we start sanctioning a bunch of growth,” Little said.

“It’s not in our shareholders’ interest to sanction growth and then find out we have no way to move it except by rail — that’s not going to be good for the economics of it,” Little said, referencing the increase in oil-by-rail shipments out of Western Canada since the end of 2017.