Page 23 - Suncor Report on Sustainability 2014 - English

Suncor: report on sustainability 2014 21

Technology

development strategy

$150 million

to support research
and development
Technology is fundamental to how we do

business. Our investments in incremental

and game-changing technologies target

higher production, enhanced proitability

and lower environmental impacts.

Our company-wide technology and innovation “The common thread to all this,” says
strategy is focused in three key areas:
Gary Bunio, general manager, technology

– continuous improvement – applying known
development, “is an emphasis on achieving
techniques to existing issues (e.g., ongoing
tangible performance improvements. We need

energy eficiency across our business units)
to focus our technology and innovation efforts
– operations technology – applying new
where we know they will make a difference.”

technologies to existing assets and issues
(e.g., our SAGD LITE project to improve In 2013, we spent approximately $150 million

in situ steam/oil ratios)
to support research and development of
– strategic technology – applying breakthrough technology.

technologies in assets, processes and
businesses (e.g., potential advances such

as Oxyfuel, ESEIEH and N-Solv).

While all kinds of technology development
are important and ongoing priorities for

us, we are placing a renewed focus on
breakthrough technologies. With these

technologies, we aim for performance
improvements of at least 25 per cent

in production, proitability, operational
eficiency or environmental impact.

Timelines for technology development vary. on the web: Details on speciic Suncor
technology initiatives, including potential
Continuous improvement means exactly that. environmental and economic beneits at
Operations technologies typically take one
sustainability.suncor.com
to three years to test and implement. By
their very nature, strategic technologies are

longer-term propositions that take decades
from conception to implementation.