Page 9 - NorthAmOil Week 03 2022

NorthAmOil PERFORMANCE NorthAmOil

Suncor cites operational issues

in fourth-quarter update

ALBERTA CANADA’S Suncor Energy said on January 18 in the design of the chains that had caused the
that operational problems at two of its oil sands failure, but added that extreme weather condi-
sites had resulted in lower crude production tions had affected the pace of repairs, with that
at the end of 2021. The disclosure was part of a work taking three weeks rather than one week,
fourth-quarter update. as had initially been anticipated.
The operational incidents – one at the Syn- As of January 17, output at both Firebag and
crude mine and one at the Firebag in situ project Syncrude was consistent with the company’s pro-
– affected Suncor’s output by about 195,000 bar- duction guidance for 2022.
rels per day in the second half of December. As a A further setback, confirmed this week, was
result, the company’s annual production for 2021 the death of a worker at Suncor’s Base Plant
The operational issues came in at 732,000 bpd, or roughly 1% below owing to a collision between two haul trucks.
were attributed in part Suncor’s guidance for the year of 740,000 bpd. The incidents come after Suncor also strug-
to cold weather. In part, the operational incidents were attrib- gled with operational issues at its Fort Hills mine
uted to bad weather. At Firebag, two critical fur- last year. The company had to carry out work
naces tripped hours apart on December 16 owing to stabilise one of the slopes at the mine, which
to frozen air louvers, Suncor said. The facility raised the project’s operating costs and delayed a
began to ramp up output again on December 22, ramp-up in output.
and production reached 200,000 bpd by January “Operational issues seem to be ongoing,
1. The company said it was carrying out an inves- leaving us unenthused about how quickly pro-
tigation to ensure its winterisation programme duction can be restored at major facilities,” a
can withstand extended periods of cold weather. National Bank of Canada analyst, Travis Wood,
At Syncrude, failures occurred in the chains said in a research note. He added that major
driving the two crushers at the Mildred Lake changes were needed to the company’s opera-
mine in mid-December. Suncor identified flaws tional and safety culture.™

EQT becomes largest US producer

of certified natural gas

APPALACHIAN US shale gas producer EQT announced last week to 5.6 bcf (159 mcm) per day of gas equivalent.
BASIN that it had certified the majority of its natural gas “These results not only enable us to unlock
output under both the Equitable Origin 100 growing domestic and international markets
(EO100) and MiQ standards. that are valuing a differentiated commodity,
The company said in a January 14 state- they also serve as an important validation of the
ment that it had received both certifications in environmental attributes of Appalachian natural
November and that the first block of its certified gas,” stated EQT’s president and CEO, Toby Rice.
gas was now available for trading on MiQ’s dig- He also touted US gas production’s role in dis-
ital registry. placing the use of coal on a global basis.
An independent assessment body, Respon- According to the company’s statement, the
sible Energy Solutions, assessed EQT’s perfor- certification score it achieved is the highest
mance against the EO100 and MiQ standards at initial certification score ascribed by Equitable
roughly 200 well pads located in Pennsylvania’s Origin to any upstream producer domestically
Greene and Washington counties. The wells or abroad to date.
produce around 4.0bn cubic feet (113mn cubic EQT is targeting net-zero greenhouse gas
metres) per day on a collective basis. (GHG) emissions on a Scope 1 and 2 basis by
EQT said its certified gas production now 2025, as well as a 65% reduction in methane
accounts for 4.5% of all gas produced in the US. emissions intensity. The company has said the
According to the company, this makes it both the gas certifications provide a “transparent, ver-
US’ largest gas producer and its largest producer ified” method for tracking its environmental,
of certified natural gas. Its total output amounted social and governance (ESG) commitments.™

Week 03 20•January•2022 www. NEWSBASE .com P9