Suncor Energy CEO Resigns After Oil Sands Fatality
Date
7/11/2022 10:11:35 AM
(MENAFN- Baystreet.ca)
Suncor energy CEO Resigns After Oil Sands Fatality
Suncor Energy (SU) chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Little has resigned following a series of
worker deaths at the company's oil sands operations.
Little agreed to step down as president and CEO of Suncor and resign from the board of
directors“effective immediately,” the company said in a news release.
Kris Smith, executive vice president for downstream operations, has been named interim CEO
of Suncor Energy. Suncor's board of directors has formed a committee to carry out a global
search for the next permanent CEO, the company said.
Little's resignation came after a Suncor employee was killed at the company's Base Plant mine
in northern Alberta, the latest in a series of accidents that has prompted calls for change at the
energy producer.
A truck accident this past January killed a contract worker and injured two others at the Base
Plant mine. In June 2021, a person was killed at the Syncrude mine, and two deaths occurred in
December 2020 at Suncor's Fort Hills mine site.
Suncor's safety record has been a contributing factor to its poor investment returns. Over the
past two years, the company's share price has risen less than other Canadian oil sands
producers.
In April, activist investor Elliott Investment Management LP called for five directors to be added
to Suncor's board of directors and sought a management review after accidents at its oil-sands
projects caused the company to miss production targets.
Mark Little was named CEO of Suncor Energy three years ago. He steered the company
through the pandemic, when oil demand collapsed, and West Texas Intermediate crude oil
prices went negative.
Little also tried to improve his company's image by focusing on reducing the company's carbon
emissions.
Year to date, Suncor Energy's stock has risen 28% to $42.43 a share.
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