Safety is one of Suncor’s concerns with the Alberta government’s mandatory oil curtailment policy. (Kyle Bakx/CBC) One of Canada’s largest oil companies is listing a series of potential pitfalls from the Alberta government’s decision to impose a mandatory cut to oil production in the province. On Friday, as part of its announcement of 2019 capital spending, Suncor outlined how the production cut could negatively impact the company. While the majority of the oilpatch is in favour of the move, three of Alberta’s larger oil and gas companies are opposed — Suncor, Husky Energy and Imperial Oil. The companies have significant refinery and retail businesses, so they are less impacted by the swings in oil prices. The government expects to slash production by 325,000 barrels per day for the first three months of 2019, and by about 95,000 barrels for the remainder of the year, in an effort to clear the backlog and improve oil prices in the province. In order of most importance, Suncor listed the potential unintended consequences of the government’s decision, which takes effect in January: Impact on safe and reliable facility operating levels, especially during cold winter months when the company typically operates at high levels […]
