Suncor Energy Inc. , one of Canada’s largest oil companies, is under pressure to resolve a challenge that’s been decades in the making. Its Base Plant in the oilsands — which traces back to the 1960s — will need a new supply of bitumen by the mid-2030s when the existing mine is widely expected to be depleted. Rich Kruger , Suncor’s chief executive, said in an interview the company has identified a number of proposed expansion projects that could dramatically boost production, enough to replace its Base Plant mine and then some. Kruger is revealing Suncor’s growth strategy at the company’s annual investor day on Tuesday, which comes at a time of apparent momentum toward a possible new export pipeline for crude from Alberta’s oilsands where Suncor is a top producer. The oilpatch veteran did not wade into the pipeline debate, calling it “a question that’s broader than Suncor.” But he did say the company has identified enough untapped potential at its existing mines — up to 400,000 barrels per day in production — to fuel a significant stage of growth. But the company has no plans for a new oilsands mine. “We think those (projects) can compete, and will make economic sense, whether the company ultimately grows materially long-term, or if we were to stay in a world much like today, and we were to stay of a similar size. “We think this is a winning set of opportunities in either scenario.” Suncor’s Base Plant is the site of Canada’s first ever oilsands operations, which began in 1967. A big source of wealth for the company are its upgraders, which convert thick, heavy bitumen from the sand into a higher-value oil. What the company’s investors have been waiting to hear is how it plans to keep those upgraders churning when the existing Base Plant mine becomes tapped out in the coming decade. Kruger said the firm now has the answer to those questions. The most significant sources of production growth would be two key projects — an expansion of Suncor’s Firebag operations and another property called Lewis, both northeast of Fort McMurray . According to the company, it already has regulatory approvals to develop Lewis. It also filed an application on Monday with the Alberta Energy Regulator seeking permission to nearly double thermal production at Firebag. “We think with the province’s ambition for growth — I won’t take it out of the regulator’s hand — I would anticipate ultimate approval,” Kruger said in an interview. “What this means is, the timing, pace and scope of developments are really up to us. We don’t have to go ask for long, drawn-out approvals.” The company has not officially sanctioned either project, with final investment decisions expected in the next 18 months to two years. The last massive new project in the oilsands was Suncor’s Fort Hills mine, which opened in 2018. It marked the end of a massive construction boom in the northern Alberta region, where scores of Canadian workers had made a fortune. The mine opened a few years after a seismic oil price collapse in 2014-15 that led to mass layoffs and a brutal recession in Alberta. After the rout, oilpatch producers had explicit marching orders from their shareholders to pay down debt and return any profits to them, rather than invest in risky, long-term projects. A decade after the downturn, there’s a renewed sense of optimism in the oilpatch fuelled by a Liberal government in Ottawa that appears willing to approve a potential, massive pipeline for oil. There’s also speculation about whether a new oilsands mine would be needed to fill a pipe that would move about a million barrels of oil per day. But one of the largest oilsands producers has no plans for a new mine. Kruger said Suncor’s existing mining sites have about 400,000 barrels per day in undeveloped capacity, an industry term for oil that’s in the ground and has not yet been drilled. “We have literally 400,000 barrels a day of undeveloped capacity that we think … can be developed well below (the cost of) what a typical greenfield project could be developed at.” • Email: rsouthwick@postmedia.com The oilsands don't get special tax breaks; they play by the same rules as all businessesSuncor CEO cites drop in safety incidents and readies new long-term plan