By The Canadian Press

Suncor says end of Alberta oil quotas a “positive signal” as it reports $302M loss

Oct 29, 2020 | 9:15 AM

CALGARY – The CEO of Suncor Energy Inc. says the Alberta government’s decision to end its oil production curtailment program in December after almost two years is “a very positive signal” for the oilsands and refining giant.

On a conference call, Mark Little says the end of the quota system imposed to support oil prices will allow Suncor to operate “unencumbered” as it recovers from nine months marked by low oil prices, the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions and a fire in August that hurt production at its base oilsands mining operations.

In the wake of a proposed merger of oilsands rivals Husky Energy Inc. and Cenovus Energy Inc., Little says Suncor is more concerned with improving operational performance and strengthening its balance sheet than taking on debt to grow by acquisition.

Suncor reported a third-quarter operating loss of $302 million as revenue fell 34 per cent to $6.5 billion compared with the same period of 2019, when it earned $1.114 billion on revenue of $9.9 billion.

It said oil and gas production fell to 616,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in the third quarter from 762,000 bpd in the year-earlier period, while refinery output fell to 399,700 barrels per day or 87 per cent utilization from 463,700 bpd or 100 per cent.

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The company, which announced in early October it will cut as many as 1,930 jobs over 18 months to reduce total staff by 10 to 15 per cent, said it is on track to achieve its $1-billion operating cost reduction target by the end of 2020.