- Planned maintenance advanced to minimize outage impact
- No change expected to overall Suncor annual production guidance
CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Mar 27, 2017) - Suncor today provided an update on the Syncrude Mildred Lake Oil Sands
facility following the March 14 incident.
Preliminary investigation indicates that the cause of the incident was a loss of containment on a line near one of the naphtha
hydrotreating units. Damage has largely been isolated to a piperack adjacent to the hydrotreater, containing piping, cables, and
electrical circuits.
Syncrude has advanced the planned eight-week turnaround originally scheduled to begin in April in order to mitigate the impact
of the unplanned outage. Beginning this week, Suncor expects to handle volumes of untreated Syncrude production to assist in
managing inventory.
Pipeline shipments of treated product are expected to resume at up to 50% capacity in April, gradually ramping up to full
rates after the turnaround is completed.
For the first two months of the year, Syncrude operated reliably at utilization rates of approximately 95%. Suncor has also
seen strong production from its other oil sands assets and offshore operations. As a result, the company does not expect this
outage to result in a change to Suncor's overall production guidance for 2017.
Suncor extends its best wishes for a speedy recovery to the Syncrude employee who was injured in the incident.
Legal Advisory - Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively referred to
herein as "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities laws. Forward-looking
statements in this news release include references to: the duration of the planned turnaround; the expectation that beginning
this week Suncor will handle volumes of untreated Syncrude production to assist in managing inventory; the expected timing for
the resumption of pipeline shipments of treated product at up to 50% capacity and the gradual ramp up to full rates; and the
company's expectation that the outage will not result in a change to Suncor's overall production guidance for 2017. Some of the
forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "planned", "expected" and similar expressions.
Forward-looking statements are based on Suncor's current expectations, estimates, projections and assumptions that were
made by the company in light of its information available at the time the statement was made and consider Suncor's experience and
its perception of historical trends, including expectations and assumptions concerning: the accuracy of reserves and resources
estimates; commodity prices and interest and foreign exchange rates; the performance of assets and equipment; capital
efficiencies and cost savings; applicable laws and government policies, including royalty rates and tax laws; future
production rates; the sufficiency of budgeted capital expenditures in carrying out planned activities; the availability and cost
of labour and services; the satisfaction by third parties of their obligations to Suncor; the receipt, in a timely manner, of
regulatory and third-party approvals; the duration of the planned turnaround; the impact of the unplanned outage; and the timing
for the resumption of pipeline shipments of treated product.
Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some
that are similar to other oil and gas companies and some that are unique to Suncor, including: the risk that the planned
turnaround duration or the timing for the resumption of pipeline shipments of treated product may be longer than expected; and
the risk that the impact of the unplanned outage may be greater than expected. Suncor's actual results may differ materially from
those expressed or implied by its forward-looking statements, so readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on
them.
Suncor's Annual Information Form, Form 40-F and Annual Report to Shareholders, each dated March 1, 2017, and other
documents it files from time to time with securities regulatory authorities describe additional risks, uncertainties, material
assumptions and other factors that could influence actual results and such factors are incorporated herein by reference. Copies
of these documents are available without charge from Suncor at 150 6th Avenue S.W., Calgary, Alberta T2P 3E3; by email request to
invest@suncor.com; by calling 1-800-558-9071; or by referring to suncor.com/FinancialReports or to the company's profile on SEDAR
at sedar.com or EDGAR at sec.gov. Except as required by applicable securities laws, Suncor disclaims any intention or obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise.
Suncor Energy is Canada's leading integrated energy company. Suncor's operations include oil sands development and
upgrading, offshore oil and gas production, petroleum refining, and product marketing under the Petro-Canada brand. A member of
Dow Jones Sustainability indexes, FTSE4Good and CDP, Suncor is working to responsibly develop petroleum resources while also
growing a renewable energy portfolio. Suncor is listed on the UN Global Compact 100 stock index and the Corporate Knights' Global
100. Suncor's common shares (symbol: SU) are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges.
For more information about Suncor, visit our web site at suncor.com,
follow us on Twitter @SuncorEnergy or together.suncor.com.