Suncor Energy Inc. released some of its annual disclosure documents today, including the company’s annual report for the year ended Dec. 31, 2006. It was a very good year for Suncor, which marks its 40th year in 2007 in the oil sands business in northern Alberta.
Suncor posted a profit for the year of $2.97–billion on revenues of $15.8 billion. Revenues were up 42 per cent compared to 2005. Profits were up 157 per cent compared to 2005.
Suncor’s return on capital employed, including capitalized costs related to major projects in progress, was 30.4 per cent in 2006, more than double what it was in 2005 (14.3 per cent) and much better than the five-year average of 18.2 per cent.”…we remain focused on the goal of achieving a return on capital employed of at least 15% at mid-cycle oil prices .”
Suncor produced nearly 294,000 barrels of oil a day in 2006. “Our goal: production of more than half
a million barrels per day in 2010 to 2012.” Suncor hopes to hit 350,000 bpd in 2008.
Now in 2005, the most recent year for which data is available, Suncor emitted 7,694,457.67 tonnes of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming from its facilities near Fort MacMurray, Alta. In that year, Suncor reported production of about 171,000 barrels per day of oil.
The Pembina Institute estimates that oil sands production of oil creates between 91 and 127 kilograms of carbon dioxide per barrel.
Suncor has been closely monitoring developments of federal and provincial strategies to reduce these emissions and notes as much in its annual report.
“Suncor is laying the groundwork for growth beyond 2012. The blueprints for those plans haven’t yet been drawn, but carbon capture and storage and harnessing energy from petroleum coke gasification could play a role in shaping the economic and environmental performance of future upgrading assets.”