Suncor Mulls Stranding Some Oil in Bid to Cut Costs, Save Planet

Suncor Energy Inc. is discussing with the Alberta government leaving some oil-sands bitumen in the ground in order to lower emissions and reduce costs, Chief Executive Officer Steve Williams said.

The provincial government in Alberta requires producers to extract “a very high percentage” of the fossil fuel at a given project because those reserves are owned by the public, Williams said Thursday during a conference call with analysts. While it’s “counter-intuitive” to consider leaving oil in the ground, doing so would yield economic and environmental benefits, he added.