Syncrude, Suncor can cut costs by sharing resources: Imperial boss

CALGARY Imperial Oil Ltd. and Suncor Energy Inc. are looking for more ways to shave costs at their Syncrude joint venture by sharing trucks, storage and other resources with nearby operations owned by Suncor, Imperial chief executive Richard Kruger said.

Syncrude, which processes bitumen extracted from the oilsands into light synthetic crude, and Suncor’s Base Plant bitumen mine could share surplus facilities and even move fluids between them, Kruger said Wednesday during Imperial’s investor day. Logistics are among other sectors they could jointly operate to trim costs, he added.

The two largest owners of Syncrude have already been sharing operational “best practices” to boost performance that has lagged at the mine, Kruger said. Suncor’s purchase of Canadian Oil Sands Ltd., previously Syncrude’s largest owner, as well as its acquisition of Murphy Oil Corp.’s stake, has helped to tackle the “complex governance structure” at Syncrude with fewer owners now, Kruger said. Suncor now owns almost 54 per cent of Syncrude.

Imperial remains the secondlargest Syncrude owner with a 25 per cent stake. The oil producer is “committed” to its ownership in Syncrude which remains an important part of its portfolio, he said.

Imperial is the operator at Syncrude and Kruger isn’t “too fussed about” which company has that title, he told journalists. What matters is that operations are becoming more efficient and performance is being improved for shareholders.