2010 – 2018

Two Suncor employees in blue coveralls and blue hard hats walk in front of fuel tanks.

Celebrating 50 years

In 2017, Suncor celebrated the 50th anniversary of launching the world’s first commercial oil sands operation. Technology and innovation have been the hallmark of our success, while dedication, ingenuity and willingness to push through challenges have prepared us for what lies ahead.

Explore the milestones and events in our history from 2010 to 2018.

A view over Suncor’s reclaimed tailings pond, named ‘Wapisiw Lookout’.

2010

Suncor became the first oil sands company to complete surface reclamation of a tailings pond. The area is the site of the first tailings pond started in 1967, formerly known as Pond 1. It is named Wapisiw Lookout to pay tribute to the history of the region.
A Suncor worker poses with a Nodosaur fossil found at the Base Plant mine.

2011

  • A nodosaur fossil is discovered in the mine at Base Plant.
  • Civil unrest escalates in Libya. Suncor withdraws from the region, evacuating all expatriate staff and offering support for non-Suncor evacuation efforts.
  • Capacity at the Sarnia-based St. Clair Ethanol Plant is doubled making it Canada’s largest biofuel production facility.
  • Edmonton refinery employees celebrate 60 years of operations.
  • Suncor celebrates the one-year anniversary of Wapisiw Lookout by planting the five-millionth tree at its oil sands site.
  • Suncor complies with sanctions on Syria by declaring force majeure and suspending operations in the country.
  • Record earnings and production are achieved in 2011.
  • Commissioning of Project Millennium, a four-year, $3.4 billion expansion of oil sands mining, extraction and upgrading facilities. Capacity doubles to 225,000 barrels of oil per day.
  • Suncor partners with Enbridge Inc. to open Saskatchewan’s first major supply of renewable energy – SunBridge Wind Power Project (17 wind turbines generating 11 megawatts of electricity).
  • Voyageur growth strategy is announced with a goal to increase oil production to half a million barrels per day by 2012.

Two men in dress shirts pose wearing Suncor hats. One man wears the hat backwards.

2012

  • With the 2012 London Olympic Games on the horizon, Suncor, the proud owner of Petro‑Canada, renews its partnership with the Canadian Olympic Committee for an additional four years.
  • Rick George retires from Suncor after serving as President and Chief executive Officer (CEO) for 21 years. Steve Williams becomes CEO.
  • Suncor and joint venture partners sanction Hebron. The Hebron field is located in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin offshore of Newfoundland and Labrador. Suncor Energy holds a 21% working interest in the project.
  • Suncor is among 12 companies to start Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA), a scientific organization focused on accelerating the pace of improving environmental performance in Canada’s oil sands.
  • MacKay River, the company’s first in situ oil sands project, celebrates 10 years of operations.
A man in a blue shirt and a woman wearing pink are seen planting a tree.

2013

  • Suncor acquires Total E&P Canada Ltd.’s interest in the Voyageur Upgrader Limited Partnership’s assets and announces that the Voyageur Upgrader project will not proceed.
  • Suncor sells the conventional portion of its natural gas business in Western Canada to a partnership between Centrica plc and Qatar Petroleum International.
  • One of the first reclaimed fen wetland watersheds in the world, Suncor’s Nikanotee fen, opens.
  • Suncor and joint venture partners sanction Fort Hills project, one of the best undeveloped oil sands mining assets in Alberta’s Athabasca region. Fort Hills co-owners are Suncor Energy, Total E&P Canada and Teck Resources Limited.
  • Suncor completes the rail offloading facility at the Montreal refinery. The Montreal refinery receives its first shipment of inland crude in early December.
A large group of Suncor employees pose in front of the Firebag Administration building.

2014

  • Golden Eagle, an oilfield in the UK North Sea, achieves first oil. Suncor holds a 26.69% working interest in the development.
  • Suncor and five industry partners approve an estimated $165 million funding commitment to sanction the construction of a dedicated Water Technology Development Centre (WTDC) which will be used to test water treatment and further develop recycling technologies.
  • Suncor’s 180,000 bbls/d Firebag in situ oil sands project celebrates 10 years of operations.
  • Suncor and The Pioneer Group Inc. announce the sale of 393 Pioneer-branded retail gas stations in Ontario and Manitoba to Parkland Fuel Corporation.
  • Suncor is awarded silver-level accreditation in Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB).
A group of Suncor employees pose with a flag bearing the Suncor Energy logo.

2015

  • Suncor is one of eight COSIA companies that support the US$20 million NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE which is designed to accelerate new technologies to convert CO2 emissions into valuable products.
  • Suncor, together with other oil sands producers, Indigenous communities and environmental organizations, supports the Government of Alberta’s Climate Leadership Plan which includes a broad-based carbon price along with an overall emissions limit for the oil sands.
  • Suncor seeks to acquire outstanding shares of Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS).
  • Suncor files a regulatory application for Meadow Creek East, a proposed steam-assisted gravity drainage in situ oil sands project to be developed in two stages.
  • The Aboriginal Employee Network, known today as Journeys launches – Suncor’s first Employee Inclusion Network.
Smoke is seen billowing behind Petro Canada fuel tanks during the forest fires in the Fort McMurray region.

2016

  • Suncor completes the acquisition of Canadian Oil Sands Limited (COS), increasing its working interest in Syncrude from 12% to 48.74%.
  • Along with the BC Cleantech CEO Alliance, Suncor and Cenovus co-found Evok Innovations. Suncor commits up to $50 million in funding over 10 years bringing together the cleantech industry and the oil and gas sector to advance new technologies directed at environmental and economic improvements for the oil and gas sector.
  • The largest natural disaster in Canadian history, the forest fires in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, results in the mandatory evacuation of Fort McMurray. In the first three days that followed, Suncor safely transports approximately 10,000 people safely out of the region, including employees, their families and Fort McMurray residents.

 

  • Suncor purchases an additional 5% working interest in Syncrude from Murphy Oil Corporation’s Canadian subsidiary, increasing its working interest to 53.74%.
  • Suncor announces its new long-term sustainability goals – to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) intensity by 30% by 2030 and to strengthen its relationships with Indigenous Peoples in Canada.
  • Suncor, through its Petro‑Canada business, announces its continued support as a National Partner of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and a premier partner of the Canadian Paralympic Committee through the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
  • Suncor purchases a 30% participating interest in the Rosebank project, considered one of the best and largest remaining undeveloped resources in the U.K. North Sea.
  • Suncor sells its Petro‑Canada Lubricants Inc. (PCLI) business to a subsidiary of HollyFrontier Corporation (HollyFrontier).
  • Suncor releases its Climate Risk and Resilience Report, the first within the Canadian energy sector, which provides information on how the company assesses climate risk and outlines its plans to build long-term resilience in a low-carbon economy.
  • The Hibernia oilfield, located in the Jeanne d’Arc basin offshore of Newfoundland & Labrador, produces its billionth barrel of produced oil. Suncor holds a 20% interest in the development.
Suncor’s 50th anniversary logo.

2017

  • Suncor sells its 50% interest in the Cedar Point wind facility.
  • Suncor receives gold certification in Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) from the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB).
  • Suncor shares an Aboriginal Awareness web-based training module on Suncor.com so it’s available to anyone.
  • Suncor celebrates the 50th anniversary of launching the world’s first commercial oil sands operation on September 30, 1967.

 

  • Terra Nova achieves its 400th million barrel of produced oil.
  • Fort McKay First Nation (FMFN) and Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN) complete the acquisition of a 49% partnership in Suncor’s East Tank Farm Development, the largest business investment by a First Nation entity in Canada.
  • Suncor purchases a 41% equity interest in PetroNor, a petroleum products distributor across the James Bay and Abitibi-Témiscamingue regions of Quebec.
  • Hebron, which is located offshore Newfoundland and Labrador in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin, produces first oil. Suncor holds a 21% interest in the project.
  • Suncor receives regulatory approval for Meadow Creek East for a production capacity of 80,000 barrels per day (two phases at 40,000 barrels per day).
  • The Downstream Workplace Inclusion Network launches.
An autonomous haul truck at one of Suncor’s mining sites.

2018

  • Suncor begins phased implementation of first commercial fleet of autonomous haul trucks in the company-operated mines – the first application of autonomous trucks in soft rock mining.
  • Suncor acquires additional 5% interest in Syncrude, increasing Suncor’s working interest in the joint venture to 58.74%.
  • Suncor acquires 17.5% interest in Norway’s Fenja field, a strategic fit in Suncor’s offshore portfolio.
  • Suncor files a regulatory application for Lewis, a proposed steam-assisted gravity drainage in situ oil sands project with production capacity of 160,000 barrels per day.