Suncor, one of Canada’s biggest oil producers, has said it plans to cut its emissions by a third by the end of the decade, while also increasing its oil production to a record 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the next few years.
In line with many other developed countries, Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, has set the target for the country to become net-zero by 2050, with the interim goal of reducing overall emissions by 40-45% by 2030.
While many oil and gas companies are committed to addressing climate change, they face the challenge of transitioning to cleaner energies while also continuing to generate value for their shareholders. Suncor, which used to own the Petro-Canada lubricant range, set out its plans at its annual investor day.
Firstly, it said it would remove 10 million tonnes of emissions from across its operations – a fall of 34% – through the use of carbon capture, low-carbon energy and other means. At the same time, it will raise oil production, but rather than achieve it through new projects, it will do it by optimising the processes of existing projects and relieving production bottlenecks. Mark Little, Suncor’s CEO, said:
“We will continue to produce oil sands for many decades to come.”
The company also recently announced that it was to team up with utility company ATCO Ltd. to work on a blue hydrogen project near Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, with the aim being to produce 300,000 tonnes per year while capturing over 90% of the associated emissions.
