A conveyor moves dirt in Suncor’s Millennium mine in the oilsands in Fort McMurray Alta, on Monday June 13, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
CALGARY — Suncor Energy Inc. says it has wrapped 1,500 job cuts two months ahead of schedule, but that it will continue to look for areas to trim as part of a wider efficiency push.
Chief executive Rich Kruger said on an earnings conference call Thursday that the cuts are expected to save $450 million a year, or about $50 million more than what they expected when the cuts were announced in June.
The extra savings came in part from additional reductions of contingent workers and contractors, while the overall cuts, combined with leadership and structural changes, put the company in a more competitive position, said Kruger.
“We are a simpler, more focused organization, positioned to compete and win.”
The company is also pushing ahead with plans for fewer, bigger trucks; buying and leasing a combined 55 ultra-class 400-ton trucks that will displace nearly twice as many smaller third-party vehicles, said Kruger.
The trucks will be driverless-ready as part of a wider push into the technology.
Suncor will be ramping up the number of trucks running autonomously at its Base Plant operation from 31 as of the second quarter this year to 91 by the end of next year.
“If our data is correct, this will be the largest single mine fleet of autonomous ultra class trucks globally,” said Kruger.
The company is not done finding efficiencies in its contractor base, but further improvements will be harder as much of the waste has already been taken out of the system, said Peter Zebedee, executive vice-president of oilsands.
“Now we’re looking at more sophisticated examples of integrated planning and scheduling, and maintenance, scheduling activity to drive further efficiencies. So do I think there’s more? Yes, absolutely. But this stuff is a bit more difficult to go after.”
Kruger stepped into the chief executive role in April with a commitment to cost-cutting and simplifying Suncor’s operations.
He drew criticism earlier this year for saying the company had been too focused on the longer-term energy transition and the shift toward clean and low-carbon energy sources.
Kruger made no mention of climate change on Thursday’s call, though Kris Smith, chief financial officer, reiterated the company’s commitment to its 2030 emission reduction goals that it plans to achieve though initiatives such as a cogeneration project and carbon capture plans.
On Thursday’s call Kruger instead kept his focus on savings, talking about how much company efforts would reduce its break-even price on a barrel of oil. The job cuts should work out to about US$1.20 per barrel, while the more efficient trucks should shave about US$1 per barrel, he said.
“We’re looking at it very, very closely in terms of, you know, bang for the buck.”
He said that along with operational changes, the company would also look at the corporate side as it works towards a US$5 per barrel initial savings target.
The ongoing savings push comes as the company reported on Wednesday evening a profit of $1.54 billion in the third quarter of 2023, compared to a net loss of $609 million in the prior year’s quarter.
On an adjusted basis, Suncor earned $1.98 billion or $1.52 per common share in the third quarter of 2023, compared to $2.57 billion or $1.88 per common share in the third quarter of 2022.
The company attributed the decrease in adjusted earnings to lower crude prices year-over-year and a weaker business environment, as well as increased royalties and decreased sales volumes due to international asset divestments.
Suncor has also been pushing to improve its safety record. At least 12 workers have died at the company’s oilsands operations in northern Alberta since 2014, and former CEO Little resigned just one day after a fatality in July last year.
Kruger said the company’s track record is improving, including zero life-threatening or life-altering injuries so far this year, while its refining operations had no recordable injuries in the third quarter, the first injury-free quarter in the company’s history.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2023.
Companies in this story: (TSX:SU)
The Canadian Press
- 0079 Ministry of Energy Business_incentive PO0079 Ministry of Energy Business_incentive PO
- 0078 LHOS 20240078 LHOS 2024
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda
- 0076 Latus only0076 Latus only
- 0073 SaskWorks-Pipeline Online0073 SaskWorks-Pipeline Online
- 0063 Turnbull Excavating hiring crusher0063 Turnbull Excavating hiring crusher
- 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
- 0058 Royal Helium Steveville opens anonymous rocket0058 Royal Helium Steveville opens anonymous rocket
- 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0002 gilliss casing services0002 gilliss casing services
- 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
- 9001