Page 13 - AIF - English

first oil from Stage 4 wells brought on-stream Wilson Creek area (Cardium formation) of central

in December.
Alberta.

• MNU commences operations. The Millennium • Suncor constructs wetland. A reclamation milestone
Naphtha Unit (MNU), which consists of a hydrogen was reached with the planting of a fen wetland at Oil

plant and a naphtha hydrotreating unit, began Sands Base. A fen is a specific type of
operating at design rates. The MNU has increased peat-accumulating wetland. Suncor is one of the first

sweet SCO production capacity, primarily through a companies in the world to attempt reconstruction of
naphtha hydrotreating unit, and stabilized secondary this type of wetland. Construction of the fen’s

upgrading processes by providing flexibility with respect underlying watershed was completed in January 2013,
to hydrogen production during planned or unplanned and vegetation was planted during the spring and

maintenance.
summer.

• Oil Sands logistics infrastructure brought into • Firebag ramp-up completed. Firebag production in
service. The company brought into service the Wood 2013 increased by approximately 40% over 2012

Buffalo pipeline, which connects the company’s production levels as Stage 4 ramp-up was completed.
Athabasca terminal at the base plant in Fort McMurray The complex ended 2013 achieving daily production

to other third-party pipeline infrastructure in rates of approximately 95% of nameplate capacity of
Cheecham, Alberta, and four storage tanks in Hardisty, 180 mbbls/d.
Alberta, which are connected to the Enbridge mainline
• Hot bitumen infrastructure commissioned. Suncor
pipeline.
initiated a number of debottlenecking projects across

• Hebron project receives sanction. In December, the Oil Sands Operations, including the completion of an
co-owners of the Hebron project located offshore insulated bitumen pipeline from Firebag to the

Newfoundland and Labrador sanctioned a development Athabasca terminal. Combined with blending facilities
plan that includes a concrete gravity-based structure at the Athabasca terminal and diluent import

(GBS) supporting an integrated topsides deck to be capabilities, Suncor increased the takeaway capacity of
used for production, drilling and accommodations. bitumen and unlocked production in mining.

Suncor has a 22.729% interest in the Hebron project. • Fort Hills project sanctioned. In October, Suncor and
The estimated gross oil production capacity for Hebron
project co-owners agreed unanimously to proceed with
is 150 mbbls/d.
the Fort Hills oil sands mining project. The project is

scheduled to produce first oil by the fourth quarter of
2013
2017 and is expected to achieve 90% of its planned

• Voyageur oil sands upgrader project not production capacity of 180 mbbls/d (73 mbbls/d net to
proceeding. In March, Suncor announced its intention Suncor) within its first year.

not to proceed with the Voyageur upgrader project in • Libya production shut in. Export terminal operations
response to changed market conditions that challenged
at Libyan seaports were closed during the latter half of
the project economics. Suncor acquired Total E&P 2013 due to political unrest in the country. Production
Canada Ltd’s (Total E&P) interest in the Voyageur
was shut in during this period; however, Suncor was
Upgrader Limited Partnership (VULP) for $515 million to able to continue progress on its exploration program.
gain full control of the partnership’s assets, including a
• Rail offloading facility complete. Construction of a
hot bitumen blending facility and tankage used to
support the company’s growing Oil Sands Operations.
rail offloading facility to enable receipt of inland crudes
at the Montreal refinery was completed in the fourth
• Majority of conventional natural gas business in
quarter of 2013. The Montreal refinery received its first
Western Canada sold. Suncor sold its conventional shipment in early December with volumes expected to
natural gas business in Western Canada with an
increase to approximately 35 mbbls/d in the first
effective date of January 1, 2013. The transaction quarter of 2014.
closed September 26, 2013 for gross proceeds of
• Successful completion of Upgrader 1 turnaround.
$1 billion, before closing adjustments and other closing
costs. The sale included properties situated across Suncor successfully executed planned maintenance
across its operations, including a seven-week
multiple regions in Alberta, northeast British Columbia
and southern Saskatchewan but excluded the majority turnaround at Upgrader 1, which was the largest
turnaround in the company’s history. The next
of Suncor’s unconventional natural gas properties in the
Kobes region (Montney formation) of northeast British scheduled turnaround at Oil Sands Operations is not
until 2016.
Columbia and unconventional oil properties in the

SUNCOR ENERGY INC. ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM 2014 11