Suncor touts Canadian refining capacity as way to weather tariffs

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This article was published 06/02/2025 (304 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY – While hoping to avoid a trade war, Suncor chief executive Rich Kruger says the company is fairly well-positioned to limit the impact if it escalates.

Speaking on an earnings call Thursday, Kruger said the company’s large Canadian refining footprint and higher capacity than peers to export crude from the coast makes it less exposed to tariffs compared to some competitors.

“Canadian companies, they’re going to experience the impact differently. If you’re a heavy oil producer that moves your crude across the border, that’s one thing,” he said.

“But if you get into our situation, probably, what, 60, 65 per cent of our barrels stay north of the border, and they either go through our refining network, or other refineries, you know, customers, and/or off of the coast. So that’s a high fraction.”

He said the company’s integrated nature makes it well-suited to limiting the impacts of tariffs, but he still hopes it doesn’t happen.

“You know, we believe in free trade. We think the U.S. needs us. We need the U.S., but you know, if we were in a world of tariffs, I like our position relative to our peer group.”

His comments came as Suncor reported a profit of $818 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, down from $2.82 billion a year earlier.

Adjusted operating earnings were $1.57 billion, down from $1.64 billion a year earlier.

Suncor said the lower adjusted operating earnings were primarily due to lower refined product realizations, increased royalties due to higher heavy crude price realizations, and other factors.

The company’s adjusted funds from operations per common share, a preferred metric of analysts came in above expectations, noted Desjardins analyst Chris MacCulloch.

He said Suncor looks to be a relatively safe harbour in the event of a North American energy trade war given it refines nearly half of corporate production within Canada, and that it looks to be the best turnaround story in the energy space.

Kruger has been pushing safety and efficiencies to improve operations and financial performance. The oilsands producer hit its net debt target of $8 billion early this year and so has been paying out more to shareholders. 

In 2024 it paid out $5.7 billion in share buybacks and dividends while averaging 827,600 barrels a day of upstream production.

Kruger said the company still sees room for more profits and fossil fuel production ahead. 

“The overriding message is we’re not done yet,” he said.

“We are as hungry as we have ever been. We want more, and we started on January 1st of this year to deliver more.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2024.

Companies in this story: (TSX:SU)