Suncor Energy Inc. T.SU

Unflattering news coverage:

[Donwaan]

Oil sands giant Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) majority-owned Syncrude subsidiary has pled guilty to an offence relating to the death of an employee in June, 2021, according to a conviction statement yesterday from Alberta Occupational Health and Safety (OHS). The employee drowned after the excavator he was operating fell into a pond. Syncrude must pay $390,000, which will go to three third party organizations that promote workplace health and safety. This is the second OHS penalty for Suncor in less than a year. In April, 2023, the company pled guilty to a charge relating to a separate fatality in January, 2021, when an employee drowned after the bulldozer he was operating broke through the ice on a tailings pond. Suncor had not checked that the ice thickness was at the minimum level of 17 inches. It was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and to pay $370,000 to the Lynch School of Engineering Safety and Risk Management. Both of the above deaths were part of a string of over a dozen workplace fatalities at Suncor's operations from 2014 to mid-2022. The abnormally high number -- higher than the rest of its oil sands competitors combined -- led to fierce criticism and ultimately the exit of former chief executive officer Mark Little in July, 2022. Current CEO Rich Kruger has vowed many times to put an "intense focus" on safety. He is keeping his word: Suncor's annual report for 2023 showed the "best overall employee and contractor safety performance in the company's history," cheered Mr. Kruger in February. There were no deaths and (for the first time since 2015) no "life-altering or life-threatening injuries." Alas, the past is not easily left behind. Alberta's health and safety watchdog is still working its way through the dents on Suncor's safety record. In addition to the penalty announced yesterday, Suncor is facing separate OHS charges (laid on March 29) relating to a fatality in July, 2022, when an employee was killed by a piece of equipment that fell from a crane. (This was the incident that prompted Mr. Little's departure the very next day.) Suncor has not said how it will answer the charges. (nice to see the new CEO is improving the situation)

[integrity11]

Lol, good to see one of the Battery Boys still trying to find any news that might put a negative spin on Su and other oil sand companies.