Suncor to invest $ 300 mm in Colorado plant
Suncor Energy, the world's second-largest oil-sands miner, will invest $ 300 mm in its Commerce City, Colorado, oil
refinery to comply with new environmental regulations.
The upgrade will allow the Calgary-based company to at least double shipments of so-called synthetic crude, or
petroleum derived from oil-sands deposits, to the Commerce City refinery. The project is scheduled to be completed in
early 2006.
The modifications will reduce the sulphur content of Suncor's diesel fuel by 2006, as required by the US
Environmental Protection Agency. Suncor will also cut the sulphur in its gasoline by 2010 to meet federal
regulations.
Canadian oil sands are one of the largest sources of petroleum outside of the Middle East. Suncor has said it plans
to boost Canadian output to 500,000 bpd by 2010, equal to one-third of daily imports to the US from Saudi Arabia,
according to Energy Department statistics.
