A sure sign the world is coming out of recession is that demand for oil has been rising sharply for over the past year. Amid increasing oil prices, Suncor and other developers are planning further investments in Alberta’s oil sands, which is one of the world’s largest petroleum reserves.
We are acutely aware that with increased production comes increased absolute greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge is to reduce emissions associated with our oil sands production processes. Reducing the much bigger share of emissions associated with using oil (which constitutes around 80% of the total emissions associated with oil sands) needs long term solutions. These would include working with consumers and industry to reduce consumption and eventually displace carbon fuels altogether.
Reducing production emissions intensity, or carbon intensity (emissions per barrel) is not a new goal for us. As the chart above shows, between 1990 and 2009 we have already reduced carbon intensity in our mining and extraction facilities by 53% (Suncor Report on Sustainability) through a combination of technological changes and efficiency measures. At the same time, we tripled our production.
Moreover, we believe we can continue to further reduce emissions in the years ahead through improved productivity of existing facilities, and systematic energy management (Suncor is committed to a corporate-wide 10% improvement in energy efficiency by 2015).
We will also continue to be guided by the climate change action plan we first adopted in 1997, including:
- managing our own GHG emissions (watch for further detail on this in future OSQAR editions)
- developing renewable sources of energy (such as the recently approved Wintering Hills wind farm project, our fifth wind project
- investing in environmental and economic research through joint venture initiatives with other industry groups
- collaborating on policy development with the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, Carbon Management Canada, and ICO2N, the Integrated CO2 Network.
As a major oil sands operator, we recognize our responsibility in meeting the climate challenge. But at the same time, we have a responsibility to help meet national and world energy demand. As seen in the chart, a constant focus on minimizing emissions and maximizing production efficiency is the surest way we can contribute to achieving both these important goals.
