RE:Still no update on FH? Strange....I'm not surprised at the "delay".
As I mentioned at the time, IMO the negotiating advantage is on the side of Total since other than political considerations, there really isn't a lot pressure on them to ink a deal. SU on the otherhand needs to find other sources for feedstock for the upgrader and get that in place since they have pretty much admitted publicly that an extension to the Base Plant isn't going to happen. The feedstock issue for the upgrader also presents issues for the rest of SU operations - ie downstream (refineries and PC).
I agree with you that, at least on the surface, that SU management dropped the ball and potentially put them into a bad and costly situation (time will tell). Seems to me that SU mangement was playing checkers while the others were playing chess.
Fortunately for SU they have still have time to figure out alternative strategies (acquistions) to get the necessary feedstock lined up. That said, FH is clearly the one that makes the most sense. FH is still costly, but I suspect that the potential alternatives are even more so.