Oilpatch leader Mark Little has resigned after another fatality at a Suncor site

Breadcrumb Trail links

1. Oil and gas
2. FP energy

A contractor was killed Thursday at Suncor’s oil sands facility north of Fort McMurray, the second fatality at the site this year

Suncor President and CEO Mark Little prepares to speak at the company’s annual meeting in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, May 2, 2019. Suncor Energy says Little has stepped down as president and CEO and resigned from board of directors, effective immediately. Photo by Jeff McIntosh/THE CANADIAN PRESS

Article content

The CEO of Suncor Energy Inc. Mark Little has resigned after yet another fatality at one of the company’s jobsites, sending shockwaves through Canada’s oil and gas sector.

Advertisement 2

This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.

Article content

Calgary-based Suncor said after financial markets closed on July 8 that Little’s departure is effective immediately and that he will be replaced on an interim basis by Chris Smith, executive vice president of Suncor’s downstream business, including Petro-Canada gas stations.

The news came a day after a contractor was killed at Suncor’s oil sands facility north of Fort McMurray, the second fatality at the site this year and the latest in a string of workplace injuries and deaths in the largest an integrated oil company in Canada.

Little held the role for only three years.

Suncor’s safety problems and recent industry underperformance drew a public rebuke from US activist investor Elliott Investment Management LP in April. Elliott criticized the company’s safety record and called on Suncor to add new directors and conduct a management and asset review.

Advertising 3

This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.

Article content

The company was in the midst of preparing to present next week the company’s plan to improve safety and productivity at oil sands operations when the latest fatality occurred.

The presentation was hastily canceled and speculation began to circulate that Little would resign.

“They were obviously going into the next week expecting to highlight the safety issues and the operational issues and talk about how (they) are dealing with them and what has changed – now that this event has happened, there’s no way they can defend anything, which they were, I’ll say,” said Phil Skolnick, an analyst at VIII Capital Corp.

“It’s not like cutting a dividend. It’s not like you have multiple operational problems where you constantly lack guidance. This is very different. It’s all about the people, which takes it to a different level.

Advertising 4

This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.

Article content

Thirteen employees or contractors have died in accidents at Suncor sites since 2014.

“Suncor is committed to achieving safety and operational excellence in our business, and we must recognize where we have fallen short and recognize the critical need for change,” board chairman Michael Wilson said in a statement. “We commend Mark for his professionalism and the outstanding work he has done to lead Suncor through the pandemic and lead our sector’s progressive approach to the energy transition.” We thank him for his years of service to the company and wish him every success.”

The sudden resignation of Suncor’s leader spoils what was beginning to look like a turnaround.

In June, RBC Capital Markets analyst Greg Pardee upgraded Suncor shares to “outperform” from “sector perform” and raised price targets, suggesting that meetings with management had encouraged them that the company had a tighter grip on steps , needed to restore its status as a best-in-class operator.

mpotkins@postmedia.com Twitter: @mpotkins

Share this article on your social network

Advertising

This ad has not yet loaded, but your article continues below.

Financial Post top stories

Sign up to receive daily breaking news from the Financial Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.

By clicking the signup button, you agree to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of our emails. Postmedia Network Inc. | 365 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3L4 | 416-383-2300

Thanks for signing up!

A welcome email is on its way. If you don’t see it, please check your spam folder.

The next issue of Financial Post Top Stories will be in your inbox soon.

We encountered a problem registering you. Please, try again

Comments

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourages all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments can take up to an hour to be moderated before they appear on the site. Please keep your comments relevant and respectful. We’ve enabled email notifications – you’ll now receive an email if you get a reply to your comment, there’s an update to a comment thread you’re following, or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.