Base Mine Extension (proposed)

Base mine extension

Base Mine Extension at a glance

225,000 barrels per day

Expected production of the Base Mine Extension project.

Contact us

Contact Indigenous & Community Relations – Wood Buffalo
Email: basemineextension@suncor.com
Toll-Free: 1-855-600-5561

Proposed oil sands mining development

The Base Mine Extension project is being considered to sustain the supply of bitumen to the Base Plant facilities once the resources in the current mines are depleted.

The project includes an open pit mining operation supplying oil sands to new bitumen froth production facilities. From there, bitumen froth will be delivered by pipeline to our existing Base Plant facilities where further processing occurs including upgrading into various product blends for market. The project will integrate with existing water, power, heat, fuel utilities and use existing approved secondary extraction and upgrading facilities at Base Plant.

It is expected to produce up to 225,000 barrels per day of bitumen froth during its estimated 25-year operational life.

Proposed timeline

The project is in the early stages of development and the schedule is subject to change. The project summary table and initial project description have been submitted to the Alberta Energy Regulator and the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada, respectively. The project application and impact statement are expected to be submitted in 2025. If approved, construction is anticipated to begin immediately and take four to five years to complete. Bitumen froth production is expected to start in the early to mid-2030s.

Data collection to establish baseline conditions at the project site and in the region is underway for the impact statement, including field studies, Indigenous Knowledge collection, community-based monitoring programs, and assessing publicly available data through initiatives such as the Oil Sands Monitoring Program. These baseline conditions will be used as a basis upon which to understand potential impacts of the proposed project.

The project is located adjacent to Base Plant, north of Fort McMurray, within the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. The southernmost edge of the project is approximately three kilometres north of the Fort McMurray limits.

Public consultation

We provide stakeholders with opportunities to participate in an open and transparent consultation process that facilitates engagement, participation and input into the project.

Information about the project, including upcoming open houses and other updates will be posted on our website, in local newspapers, through community bulletins and by other means.

Responsibility to Indigenous communities

We are committed to communicating directly and openly with Indigenous communities to identify and address questions and concerns.

Throughout the life of the project, we continue to engage and consult with Indigenous communities. Future engagement activities will vary depending on the nature and extent of impacts on communities and how individual communities want to be engaged. Engagement may include open houses, on-the-land workshops, community meetings and technical meetings.

We will seek to identify specific impacts to economic, social and health conditions and ensure that they are incorporated into ongoing assessment work and planning for the project.

Learn about our commitment to building mutual trust and respect with Indigenous Peoples.

Environmental stewardship

Four researchers standing by the river at Wapisiw lookout. They are wearing safety glasses, blue hard hats, gloves and safety vests. There is a bridge over the river in the background. One of them is holding a tablet.

We’re continuously working towards minimizing our environmental impact and keeping our communities safe. These principles will be extended to the Base Mine Extension project.

Explore what we are doing

Community benefits

We work with governments, industry and community groups to develop coordinated, long-term approaches to address social and economic effects of oil sands development.

Our investment in the project will benefit nearby communities, Alberta, and Canada through:

  • employment opportunities
  • promotion of economic growth and business development
  • continued use of existing oil sands processing facilities
  • creating value from Canada’s oil sands resources
  • fostering opportunities to implement innovations that are currently being developed and enabling ongoing investment in research and development
  • valuable revenues for governments
  • education and training
  • community investment

Project updates for community members

While we are still in the early stages of developing a regulatory application for the project, we want to ensure that community members stay informed on our progress and plans. We will be sharing a project newsletter at least twice per year, which can be found here.

Summer 2023 Newsletter

(PDF, 8 pages, 1 MB)
Download

Winter 2022 Newsletter

(PDF, 8 pages, 2 MB)
Download

Fall 2022 Newsletter

(PDF, 4 pages, 769 KB)
Download

Fall 2022 FAQ

(PDF, 1 page, 125 KB)
Download

Regulatory documents

Initial Project Description Summary (French)

(PDF, 23 pages, 3 MB)
Download

Initial Project Description Summary (Cree)

(PDF, 15 pages, 2 MB)
Download

Initial Project Description Summary (Dene)

(PDF, 18 pages, 2 MB)
Download