| OIL & GAS
Suncor Energy invests over $1.2 million in non-profit groups Judge changes ruling to allow all hearings on Mackenzie pipeline to proceed Syncrude surpasses $1 billion in spending with Aboriginal businesses NWT Chiefs look at environmental concerns in Alberta oilsands Proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline gets boost from deal for jobs and training Suncor Energy invests over $1.2 million in non-profit groups Suncor Energy announced February 1st it invested a record $11.2 million in more than 900 charitable organizations and non-profit groups in 2006. More than $8 million of that total was invested through the Suncor Energy Foundation, which receives Suncor's contributions and supports charitable organizations in Canada. An additional $3.2 million was invested by different Suncor businesses through cash and in-kind contributions. "As a sustainable energy company, we believe it's essential to give back to our communities by sharing the benefits of our growth," says Sue Lee, Suncor's senior vice president of human resources and communications, and president of the Suncor Energy Foundation. "We continue to foster invaluable relationships by encouraging employee community-mindedness and involvement, and creating vibrant, healthy places for employees, retirees and neighbours to live." Suncor's and the Suncor Energy Foundation's investments in 2006 were focused in three priority areas:
Suncor Energy Inc. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta. Suncor's oil sands business, located near Fort McMurray, Alberta, extracts and upgrades oil sands and markets refinery feedstock and diesel fuel, while operations throughout western Canada produce natural gas. Suncor operates a refining and marketing business in Ontario with retail distribution under the Sunoco brand. U.S.A. downstream assets include pipeline and refining operations in Colorado and Wyoming and retail sales in the Denver area under the Phillips 66(R) brand. Suncor's common shares (symbol: SU) are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges. The Suncor Energy Foundation is a private, non-profit charitable foundation established by Suncor to receive Suncor's contributions and support registered Canadian charitable organizations. As an 'Imagine Caring Company,' Suncor invests at least one per cent of average domestic pre-tax profits to charitable and non-profit causes each year. Suncor Energy's and the Suncor Energy Foundation's community investments in 2006 included the following projects: Community:
Education:
Environment:
For more information on the Suncor Energy Foundation and Suncor's community investment activities, visit www.suncor.com/community. Judge changes ruling to allow all hearings on Mackenzie pipeline to proceed By Bob Weber A judge has decided that all scheduled social and environmental hearings into a proposed $7-billion natural gas pipeline down the Mackenzie Valley can go ahead. Federal Court Justice Michael Phelan has lifted a stay he issued last November on all sessions of joint review panel hearings that dealt with issues affecting the Dene Tha' First Nation. That means the sessions can go ahead as previously planned, which will help the hearings finish earlier. But the panel still won't be able to issue its final report to the National Energy Board until the Dene Tha concerns are dealt with. ``We've agreed to let them finish their hearings but they're still stopped from making their final report,'' said Dene Tha' lawyer Robert Freedman. Freedman said a meeting to discuss how to address the Dene Tha concerns is to be held in May after the panel is scheduled to wrap up. Phelan's original ruling out of Federal Court in Vancouver said Ottawa failed to consult with the Dene Tha'. A regulatory process that brought federal energy and environment officials together with Aboriginal groups along the route was set up in 2002. But the Dene Tha', who number about 2,500 members on seven reserves in northwestern Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southern end of the Northwest Territories, were excluded from those discussions. That's because the final leg of the pipeline and the infrastructure connecting it to existing networks would be in northern Alberta, falling under that province's jurisdiction. The Dene Tha' argue that omitting the connecting facility from the main hearings robs them of any input. While all other Aboriginal groups have some kind of representation on the panel, the Dene Tha' are restricted to making a presentation. Phelan wrote the development on Dene Tha' lands was just as much part of the pipeline as any other work. Syncrude surpasses $1 billion in spending with Aboriginal businesses Syncrude's business relationship with Aboriginal-owned companies officially became a billion-dollar success story as the oil sands giant confirmed surpassing that important milestone in 2006. "Our commitment to local Aboriginal communities dates back more than 30 years when we first established a formal relationship that would provide rewarding career and business opportunities to people in our region," said Jim Carter, president and chief operating officer. "This is a significant achievement of which Syncrude and our Aboriginal neighbours can be very proud." Syncrude recently confirmed that it reached the $1-billion milestone with Aboriginal companies in 2006 since it began tracking the annual figure in 1992. Over the last three years, Syncrude has spent more than $100 million annually with Aboriginal enterprises. In 2006 alone, spending was an estimated $130 million based on 27 active contracts with local Aboriginal businesses. Aboriginal businesses currently provide Syncrude with a broad range of goods and services – including waste management, environmental monitoring, safety clothing and pallet manufacturing, electrical maintenance, welding and fabrication, drafting, and reclamation. "We continue to work with our Aboriginal neighbours to build on existing relationships and identify new business opportunities," said Syncrude CE Charles Ruigrok. "They have proven to be quality suppliers that add value to our operation." Syncrude has a team who works with Aboriginal businesses in understanding our procurement policies and systems. The team also contributes to industry associations to provide mentorship and support for Aboriginal suppliers, especially during the business-development stages. "Having a business partner like Syncrude from the beginning has helped many First Nation entrepreneurs and communities take part in the economic success of the oil sands," said Jim Boucher, Chairman of Athabasca Tribal Council and Fort McKay First Nation Chief. "The region has shown how Aboriginal communities can participate and contribute to the Canadian economy." As a strong proponent of Aboriginal business development, Syncrude is the only business in Canada to have achieved Gold Level accreditation for the third time with the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business and its Progressive Aboriginal Relations program. This national program recognizes companies committed to increasing Aboriginal employment, assisting in business development, building individual capacity, and enhancing community relations. The Syncrude Project is a joint venture operated by Syncrude Canada Ltd. and owned by Canadian Oil Sands Limited, ConocoPhillips Oilsands Partnership II, Imperial Oil Resources, Mocal Energy Limited, Murphy Oil Company Ltd., Nexen Oil Sands Partnership, and Petro-Canada Oil and Gas. NWT Chiefs look at environmental concerns in Alberta oilsands A First Nations chief says the oilsands and other environmental concerns near Fort McMurray are a ``growing cancer tumour that's out of control.'' Grand Chief Herb Norwegian of the Deh Cho First Nation told a news conference the damage is an accumulation from lax environmental safeguards in the half century since development began. Norwegian and other chiefs from the Northwest Territories toured the oilsands recently before holding a news conference to discuss treaty rights to water, the stewardship efforts by First Nations and impacts of development on water. The group wants to form an alliance for the Mackenzie watershed that extends from Alberta to the Northwest Territories. They say Aboriginal communities north of the booming region around Fort McMurray are being affected by the excessive use of water upstream and the contamination emanating from pulp mills and the oilsands. As a result, they say, fish are becoming almost inedible and waterfowl are declining in numbers due to worsening water quality and quantity. ``We need to take precautions and do some fact finding,'' said Dene Nation Chief Bill Erasmus. ``We need to know the facts. We don't need to scare people. We need to understand the enormity of it and to develop solutions,'' Norwegian said his people are not against oilsands development, ``but we have to develop in a way that a barrel of oil does not need six barrels of water.'' He added: ``We have to bring people together not so much to blame but rather to rectify the problem.'' Proposed Mackenzie Valley pipeline gets boost from deal for jobs and training In the first piece of good news the Mackenzie Valley natural gas pipeline proposal has had in months, the Northwest Territories and the energy companies behind the $7-billion project have agreed to training and job guarantees. The socio-economic deal was announced in Yellowknife on January 22nd after nearly three years of talks. It commits pipeline backers to cover half of a $21-million fund to train northerners for jobs if the project goes forward. The rest of the money would be provided by government. The deal also formalizes previous commitments to hire about 800 N.W.T. residents – roughly 16 per cent – during the four-year construction phase. About 140 of those jobs would remain once the pipeline started operating. Transportation costs for workers from remote northern communities to pipeline job sites would be covered. ``Reasonable'' efforts would also be made to spend at least 15 per cent of the project's supplies, equipment and services budget in the N.W.T. A board with Aboriginal representatives would be established to monitor socio-economic impacts. The deal addresses issues similar to those in agreements reached with other major industrial projects, such as the territory's three operating diamond mines, although Bell said the territory learned from those earlier deals that training guarantees were crucial. ``(Job targets) are meaningless unless people are trained,'' he said. ``They're not achievable unless people have the capacity.'' Bell said the money will go to training programs for all energy jobs, not only pipeline-related work. This deal is separate from a 10-year, $500-million fund set up by the federal government to deal with socio-economic effects of the project's development, which many say would expose the tiny, isolated Aboriginal communities of the Mackenzie Valley to industrial development for the first time. That agreement commits the proponents to helping workers with lifestyle issues such as money management. Aboriginal cultural supports such as translators, awareness training and support for community activities are also promised. The Mackenzie Valley project, which would open up the vast gas fields of the Western Arctic, has been beset by regulatory and legal delays as Aboriginal groups fight to ensure their concerns are addressed by panel hearings now criss-crossing the North. The project's costs, originally estimated at $3.5 billion, have doubled and are expected to rise even further. Imperial Oil is expected to issue a revised cost estimate in March. Bell acknowledged that the training money won't kick in until the go-ahead for construction is given – too late to be immediately useful for northerners seeking jobs. But he said the territory is already running training programs and expects the socio-economic agreements funds to pick up when funding for those programs runs out. |
||