Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this publication constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). All forward-looking statements are based on the company’s current expectations, estimates, projections, beliefs and assumptions based on information available at the time the statement was made and in light of the company’s experience and its perception of historical trends, including expectations and assumptions concerning the accuracy of reserve and resource estimates; commodity prices and interest and foreign exchange rates; capital efficiencies and cost-savings; applicable 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; and the receipt, in a timely manner, of regulatory and third-party approvals.
Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “plans,” “scheduled,” “intends,” “may,” “believes,” “projects,” “indicates,” “could,” “focus,” “vision,” “goal,” “proposed,” “target,” “objective,” “continue” and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this publication include references to: our business strategies and operations; our decade long growth plan, one that is expected to: (i) boost our total production to more than one million barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2020; (ii) reinforce our leading position in developing Canada’s oil sands reserves; and (iii) cause four of every five barrels to flow from oil sands; Suncor’s 2011-2012 environmental and social goals; Suncor’s goal to be Canada’s premier integrated energy company; Suncor’s target of average oil sands production growth of approximately 10% per year and company-wide production growth of approximately 8% per year through to 2020; Suncor’s plan to develop Stages 3 through 6 of the company’s Firebag in-situ project, a second stage of the MacKay River in-situ project, ongoing production from international and offshore operations and our strategic partnership with Total, whereby the two companies plan to develop two key oil sands mining projects with other partners, including the Fort Hills mine and the Joslyn mine, and restart construction of the 200,000 barrel per day Voyageur upgrader at Suncor’s oil sands operations north of Fort McMurray Alberta; Suncor’s new TROTM tailings management approach, which is expected to dramatically accelerate the reclamation of tailings ponds and mined lands (in about a third of the time it takes now) and reduce the need for future tailings ponds; our expectation that we will have spent over $1 billion to incorporate TROTM into our operations by the end of 2011; Suncor’s environmental goals, including: (i) reduce fresh water consumption by 12% by 2015; (ii) increase reclamation of disturbed land area by 100% by 2015; (iii) improve energy efficiency by 10% by 2015; and (iv) reduce air emissions (nitrogen oxides, sulphur oxides and volatile organic compounds) by 10% by 2015; Suncor’s track to spend a total of $750 million developing wind energy and biofuels by 2012; Suncor’s capital spending plans for 2012; project development and expansion schedules and results, including Firebag Stage 3 (first oil mid 2011) and Stage 4 (first oil early 2013); future oil, natural gas and ethanol production levels and the sources of their growth; the expectation that our renewable energy portfolio will avoid nearly one million tonnes of carbon dioxide per year; anticipated cost savings, and other synergies, realized from the merger with Petro-Canada, which are expected to grow to approximately $800 million per year by 2012; our water management processes; and Suncor’s intention that its Exploration and Production business can provide low-cost production, near-term cash flow and the return on capital needed to invest in long-term growth for Suncor.
In addition, all other statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including statements about our strategy for growth, costs, schedules, production volumes, operating and financial results and expected impact of future commitments, are forward-looking statements.
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 our experience. Our actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements and you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on them.
The risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, that could influence actual results include, but are not limited to: market instability affecting Suncor’s ability to borrow in the capital debt markets at acceptable rates; consistently and competitively finding and developing reserves that can be brought on-stream economically; success of hedging strategies; maintaining a desirable debt to cash flow ratio; changes in general economic, market and business conditions; our ability to finance capital investment to replace reserves or increase processing capacity in a volatile commodity pricing and credit environment; fluctuations in supply and demand for Suncor’s products; commodity prices, interest rates and currency exchange; volatility in natural gas and liquids prices; Suncor’s ability to respond to changing markets and to receive timely regulatory approvals; the successful and timely implementation of capital projects, including growth projects and regulatory projects; risks and uncertainties associated with consulting with stakeholders and obtaining regulatory approval for exploration and development activities in Suncor’s operating areas (these risks could increase costs and/or cause delays to or cancellation of projects); effective execution of planned turnarounds; the accuracy of cost estimates, some of which are provided at the conceptual or other preliminary stage of projects and prior to commencement or conception of the detailed engineering needed to reduce the margin of error and increase the level of accuracy; the integrity and reliability of Suncor’s capital assets; the cumulative impact of other resource development; the cost of compliance with current and future environmental laws; the accuracy of Suncor’s reserve, resource and future production estimates and its success at exploration and development drilling and related activities; the maintenance of satisfactory relationships with unions, employee associations and joint venture partners; competitive actions of other companies, including increased competition from other oil and gas companies or from companies that provide alternative sources of energy; labour and material shortages; uncertainties resulting from potential delays or changes in plans with respect to projects or capital expenditures; actions by governmental authorities, including the imposition of taxes or changes to fees and royalties, changes in environmental and other regulations (for example, our negotiations with the Alberta Department of Energy in respect of the Bitumen Valuation Methodology Regulation and the Government of Canada’s current review of greenhouse gas emission regulations); the ability and willingness of parties with whom we have material relationships to perform their obligations to us (including in respect of any planned divestitures); risks and uncertainties associated with the ability to meet closing conditions with respect to the sale of any of Suncor’s assets, the timing of closing and the consideration to be received with respect to the planned sale of any of Suncor’s assets, including the ability of counterparties to comply with their obligations in a timely manner and the receipt of any required regulatory or other third party approvals outside of Suncor’s control; the occurrence of unexpected events such as fires, blowouts, freeze-ups, equipment failures and other similar events affecting Suncor or other parties whose operations or assets directly or indirectly affect Suncor; failure to realize anticipated synergies or cost savings; risks regarding the integration of Suncor and Petro-Canada after the merger; and incorrect assessments of the values of Petro-Canada. The foregoing important factors are not exhaustive.
Suncor’s Earnings Release, Quarterly Report and Management’s Discussion & Analysis for the first quarter of 2011, its most recently filed Annual Information Form/Form 40-F and Annual Report to Shareholders and other documents it files from time to time with securities regulatory authorities describe the 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 3Y7, by calling 1-800-558-9071, by email request to info@suncor.com or by referring to the company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com or EDGAR at www.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.
Reclamation
Reclamation at Suncor is a carefully monitored process with two distinct components: (i) transformation of the area, including tailing ponds, into a solid material that can support vegetation, wildlife and landscape restoration, which includes landform design and oil placement; and (ii) re-vegetation in a way that the reclaimed landscape can support vegetation and wildlife as a self-sustaining ecosystem. When Suncor claims that it has reclaimed land or plans to reclaim land, the reclaimed land will have met or is intended to meet the two distinct components identified in this paragraph.
BOEs
Certain natural gas volumes in this publication have been converted to barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) on the basis of one barrel to six thousand cubic feet. BOEs may be misleading, particularly if used in isolation. A conversion ratio of one barrel of crude oil or natural gas liquids to six thousand cubic feet of natural gas is based on an energy equivalency conversion method.