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Suncor Cuts Fort Hills Output Guidance Amid Mine Instability

  • Oil sands mine will continue at current production level
  • Suncor shut one production unit last year as oil prices slid
Suncor Energy’s Fort Hills mine is seen in this aerial photograph taken above the Athabasca oil sands near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, in 2019

Suncor Energy’s Fort Hills mine is seen in this aerial photograph taken above the Athabasca oil sands near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, in 2019

Photographer: Ben Nelms/Bloomberg
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Suncor Energy Inc. cut its full-year production guidance at its Fort Hills oil sands mine to between 45,000 and 55,000 barrels a day from a previous 65,000 to 85,000 barrels a day because of additional required work on the mine.

Instability on the south side of the mine requires so-called overburden removal to occur, which is to be completed by the end of the year, the company said in its second-quarter earnings release. Fort Hills will continue at the current production level for the remainder of the year and “transition to both primary extraction trains” by late 2021 to reach full production in early 2022. Fort Hills cash operating costs have also been updated to between C$37 and C$42 a barrel from C$25 to C$29 a barrel.