Cornerstone Syncrude 2014

SUMMER 2014SYNCRUDE CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE

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Meet yourneighbours at the local oil sands company

Syncrude has grown up with Wood Buffalo over the past five decades

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TOGETHERWEBUILDSUCCESS.

The PCL family of companies congratulates Syncrude Canada on 50 years of innovation and progress. PCL is proud of its 35-year-long relationship with this pioneering and progress-minded Canadian leader.

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TOGETHERWEBUILDSUCCESS.

The PCL family of companies congratulates Syncrude Canada on 50 years of innovation and progress. PCL is proud of its 35-year-long relationship with this pioneering and progress-minded Canadian leader.

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ABC 83188 2013/12

Prescription Drugs • Dental • Life and Disability • Vision • Travel Coverage • Critical Illness Spending Accounts • Extended Health • Employee and Family Assistance Program

www.ab.bluecross.ca/group

Congratulations, Syncrude, on 50 years of visionary leadership in Canada’s natural resources sector.Alberta Blue Cross is pleased to be the benefit carrier of choice for Syncrude and other leading members of Alberta’s oil and gas industry.

Put us to work for your company.Alberta Blue Cross delivers the group benefits that employees prefer, and the value your business needs.

Call us today for a confidential, no-obligation quote or talk to your plan advisor.

Edmonton 780-498-8500Lethbridge 403-328-6081Grande Prairie 780-532-3507

Calgary 403-294-4004 Medicine Hat 403-529-5550 Red Deer 403-347-7999

Toll free 1-866-513-2555

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Syncrude Canada on 50 years

Congratulations

RELATIONSHIPSMATTERwww.worleyparsons.com

Over 23 years of collaboration and trust make the Syncrude & CoSyn relationship what it is today. We will never stop driving to innovate and deliver on our promises; we succeed when our customers succeed.

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ABC 83188 2013/12

Prescription Drugs • Dental • Life and Disability • Vision • Travel Coverage • Critical Illness Spending Accounts • Extended Health • Employee and Family Assistance Program

www.ab.bluecross.ca/group

Congratulations, Syncrude, on 50 years of visionary leadership in Canada’s natural resources sector.Alberta Blue Cross is pleased to be the benefit carrier of choice for Syncrude and other leading members of Alberta’s oil and gas industry.

Put us to work for your company.Alberta Blue Cross delivers the group benefits that employees prefer, and the value your business needs.

Call us today for a confidential, no-obligation quote or talk to your plan advisor.

Edmonton 780-498-8500Lethbridge 403-328-6081Grande Prairie 780-532-3507

Calgary 403-294-4004 Medicine Hat 403-529-5550 Red Deer 403-347-7999

Toll free 1-866-513-2555

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Syncrude Canada on 50 years

Congratulations

RELATIONSHIPSMATTERwww.worleyparsons.com

Over 23 years of collaboration and trust make the Syncrude & CoSyn relationship what it is today. We will never stop driving to innovate and deliver on our promises; we succeed when our customers succeed.

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Celebrating 50 years of employee-powered growth.

Our employees are proud of their achievements over the last 50 years. And we couldn’t be more proud of them. Thanks to their dedication, today we are one of North America’s most respected energy producers. Not to mention an industry leader in responsible development, community relations and so much more. Together we’ve changed the face of our company and our industry—and we will continue to do so for years to come. syncrude.ca

“We’ve done $2 billion in business with local Aboriginal companies.” – Doug Webb, Aboriginal Business Liaison

“I was part

of a te

am that d

esigned a crusher tooth prototype that is now the industry standard.” – Mel Callan, Projects

“We’re leaders today, and we’ll be leaders tomorrow.” – Sarmad Abbas, Maintenance

“There

’s 30 kids playing instru

ments in

the band thanks to my Syncrude co-workers.” – Lance Ferris, Froth Treatment

“We’re advancing reclamation science for the entire industry.” – Jessica Clark, Environmental Research

The Syncrude Project is a joint venture undertaking among Canadian Oil Sands Partnership #1, Imperial Oil Resources, Mocal Energy Limited, Murphy Oil Company Ltd., Nexen Oil Sands Partnership, Sinopec Oil Sands Partnership, and Suncor Energy Ventures Partnership.

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Celebrating 50 years of employee-powered growth.

Our employees are proud of their achievements over the last 50 years. And we couldn’t be more proud of them. Thanks to their dedication, today we are one of North America’s most respected energy producers. Not to mention an industry leader in responsible development, community relations and so much more. Together we’ve changed the face of our company and our industry—and we will continue to do so for years to come. syncrude.ca

“We’ve done $2 billion in business with local Aboriginal companies.” – Doug Webb, Aboriginal Business Liaison

“I was part

of a te

am that d

esigned a crusher tooth prototype that is now the industry standard.” – Mel Callan, Projects

“We’re leaders today, and we’ll be leaders tomorrow.” – Sarmad Abbas, Maintenance

“There

’s 30 kids playing instru

ments in

the band thanks to my Syncrude co-workers.” – Lance Ferris, Froth Treatment

“We’re advancing reclamation science for the entire industry.” – Jessica Clark, Environmental Research

The Syncrude Project is a joint venture undertaking among Canadian Oil Sands Partnership #1, Imperial Oil Resources, Mocal Energy Limited, Murphy Oil Company Ltd., Nexen Oil Sands Partnership, Sinopec Oil Sands Partnership, and Suncor Energy Ventures Partnership.

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CONGRATULATING SYNCRUDE CANADA ON 50 YEARS OF SUCCESS!PLANT MAINTENANCE | PRESSURE VESSEL COMPONENTS | MACHINING | DRILLING Edmonton Exchanger provides plant maintenance services for the petrochemical industry, refineries and fertilizer plants. Our on-site services range from portable field machining and controlled bolting, to turn-key plant and refinery shutdown projects. Our steel fabrication division specializes in the fabrication of a full range of pressure vessel component sizes, and features the most extensive one-stop pressure vessel head forming and shell rolling capabilities in North America. We are supported by one of the largest inventories of pressure vessel quality carbon steel plate in the world. Additional services include machining, drilling and profile cutting of steel plate to any size and thickness. www.edmontonexchanger.com

Interact with us:

www.facebook.com/EdmontonExchanger

www.linkedin.com/company/edmonton-exchanger

@EdExGroupCo

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Nalco Champion has worked closely with Syncrude

for over 25 years, and we have grown together

in the oil sands. We are proud to have partnered

with Syncrude to deliver specialty chemical programs

and sustainable solutions to support the innovation

and progress they have driven in the industry.

In 50 years, Syncrude has changed the shape

of oil sands production, and Nalco Champion

is excited to be a part of what is to come in the

future. Together, we’re taking energy further.

Visit nalcochampion.com to learn more.

Together, We’re Taking Energy FurtherTM

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CONGRATULATING SYNCRUDE CANADA ON 50 YEARS OF SUCCESS!PLANT MAINTENANCE | PRESSURE VESSEL COMPONENTS | MACHINING | DRILLING Edmonton Exchanger provides plant maintenance services for the petrochemical industry, refineries and fertilizer plants. Our on-site services range from portable field machining and controlled bolting, to turn-key plant and refinery shutdown projects. Our steel fabrication division specializes in the fabrication of a full range of pressure vessel component sizes, and features the most extensive one-stop pressure vessel head forming and shell rolling capabilities in North America. We are supported by one of the largest inventories of pressure vessel quality carbon steel plate in the world. Additional services include machining, drilling and profile cutting of steel plate to any size and thickness. www.edmontonexchanger.com

Interact with us:

www.facebook.com/EdmontonExchanger

www.linkedin.com/company/edmonton-exchanger

@EdExGroupCo

000SYN-EdmontonExchanger-FP.indd 1 2014-04-09 1:40 PM

Nalco Champion has worked closely with Syncrude

for over 25 years, and we have grown together

in the oil sands. We are proud to have partnered

with Syncrude to deliver specialty chemical programs

and sustainable solutions to support the innovation

and progress they have driven in the industry.

In 50 years, Syncrude has changed the shape

of oil sands production, and Nalco Champion

is excited to be a part of what is to come in the

future. Together, we’re taking energy further.

Visit nalcochampion.com to learn more.

Together, We’re Taking Energy FurtherTM

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1964 WAS A GREAT YEAR FOR CANADAIn 1964 Syncrude was created to research the economic and technical feasibility of mining oil from the Athabasca oil sands. 50 game-changing years later the name Syncrude is synonymous with scientifi c and technological innovation, sustainability leadership and a steadfast commitment to community.

Congratulations Syncrude, we’re honoured to tip our hard hat to you.

WE'RE PRETTY GOOD AT THISCANADA’S ENERGYOILSANDSTODAY.CA

A MESSAGE FROM CANADA’S OIL SANDS PRODUCERS.

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72 OH, GIVE THEM A HOMEFrom 30 to 300, the Beaver Creek wood bison herd has thrived on a landscape reclaimed in 1992By David DiCenzo

84 RECLAMATION ROCKSTAR University of Saskatchewan researcher Lee Barbour is studying water movement over reclaimed landscapes

110 PLANNING FOR THE FUTURERochelle Young grew up in Wood Buffalo and is working at Syncrude to ensure the landscape is reclaimed

127 A CLEAR SOLUTIONWarren Zubot and Gail Buchanan have found a way to filter tailings water to the point where it can support koi fish

136 YESTERDAY’S OIL SANDSFen wetlands – like the one Syncrude created on reclaimed land – are an important part of northern Alberta’s ecosystem

CONTENTS

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“We don’t want to create something that resembles a golf course.” – Rochelle Young

1964 WAS A GREAT YEAR FOR CANADAIn 1964 Syncrude was created to research the economic and technical feasibility of mining oil from the Athabasca oil sands. 50 game-changing years later the name Syncrude is synonymous with scientifi c and technological innovation, sustainability leadership and a steadfast commitment to community.

Congratulations Syncrude, we’re honoured to tip our hard hat to you.

WE'RE PRETTY GOOD AT THISCANADA’S ENERGYOILSANDSTODAY.CA

A MESSAGE FROM CANADA’S OIL SANDS PRODUCERS.

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ON THE COVERDaniel and Doris Bona

START UP19 MAKING A HOMEOver 50 years, Syncrude and Wood Buffalo have grown up side by side

22 FAMILY MATTERSThree generations of the Bourque family have built rewarding careersin the oil sands

26 EVERYBODY WINSSyncrude Aboriginal Trades Program workers believe the program presents nothing but benefits

30 ACADEMIC BONDSResearchers around the worldhave benefited from partner-ships with Syncrude, and vice versa

33 RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD

Employee volunteerism is evident throughout the community

FEATURES42 THE WONDER YEARSThe technologies that Syncrudedeveloped in its first 14 years arenow used across the industryBy Theodore White

48 FROM COAST TO COASTThe oil sands are a national industry and Syncrude’s economic importance is felt across the countryBy Darren Campbell

63 REVERSING TIMESyncrude funding, and fossil finds, have helped paleontolo-gists understand Alberta’s prehistoryBy Richelle Wiseman

89 HOME AWAY FROM HOMEGuest workers have been a key component of oil sands successBy David DiCenzo

102 QUANTITY MEETS QUALITY

Historic investment in value-added upgrading takes commitment but yields benefits

115 PUTTING LOCAL COMMUNITIES FIRSTSyncrude has deliberately helped build Aboriginal-owned companies through its procurement programBy Shannon Sutherland Smith

140 THE ROAD TO STRONG RETURNSSolid partnerships lead to a successful future, says Syncrude chair Ryan Kubik

142 THE LOCAL OIL SANDS COMPANYScott Sullivan believes Syncrude’s success is rooted in its commitment to the communityBy Martin Dover

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94 REINVENTING THE WHEELSStewart Johnson’s research has changed the way industry does business

99 STRATEGIC ALLIANCESThe CoSyn Alliance’s Lloyd Goodine is one of 550 people in Edmonton working on Syncrude projects

138 LOCAL ROOTSIt’s necessary to engage with the communities where we work

IN THE COMMUNITY37 GOLDEN ANNIVERSARYEdmonton’s former mayor Stephen Mandel congratulates Syncrude

96 BETTER THAN PARThe Syncrude Boreal Open will play through Fort McMurray

125 THE MAKING OF AN ICONWood bison have become a symbol of northeastern Alberta

129 ROLE MODELSAboriginal leaders JP Gladu and Roberta Jamieson on their partnerships with industry

146 CRUDE STATISTICSA numerical look at Syncrude’s contribution to the community and economy

MILESTONES60 THE EARLY YEARS

82 THE 1980s

86 THE 1990s

100 THE 2000s

122 TODAY & TOMORROW

NEIGHBOURS38 LIKE MOTHER, LIKE SONDoris and Daniel Bona built meaningful careers at Syncrude a generation apart

55 FIT FOR ALL SEASONSByron Stacey believes Syncrude’s safety culture is best in class

56 UNDER PRESSUREKeeping the lights and taps working is no easy feat at Syncrude

59 SMOOTH LANDINGPilot John Farrington wanted a career change – without the stress of changing companies

80 SAFETY CULTUREThe Mosengs’ Canadian Forces training prepared them for rewarding careers

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ESCO® helps mine sites and Oil Sands extraction processing facilities operate more safely and efficiently. With a comprehensive range of products and services—including rebuild services, cast blades, and the new Nemisys® and Ultralok® Mining G.E.T. systems—the local ESCO Fort McMurray branch is backed by a global R&D, manufacturing and technical support network.

Contact ESCO Fort McMurray today to learn more.

ESCO Fort McMurrayT: 780-713-3443

[email protected]

ESCO Congratulates Syncrude for Fifty Successful Years

BUILT TO WITHSTAND THE OIL SANDS

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ESCO® helps mine sites and Oil Sands extraction processing facilities operate more safely and efficiently. With a comprehensive range of products and services—including rebuild services, cast blades, and the new Nemisys® and Ultralok® Mining G.E.T. systems—the local ESCO Fort McMurray branch is backed by a global R&D, manufacturing and technical support network.

Contact ESCO Fort McMurray today to learn more.

ESCO Fort McMurrayT: 780-713-3443

[email protected]

ESCO Congratulates Syncrude for Fifty Successful Years

BUILT TO WITHSTAND THE OIL SANDS

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FIFTY YEARS AGO, CANADA WASN’T an energy super power. But 1964 saw the beginning of our ascendancy into one. It also marked the start of the commercial development of Canada’s oil sands, which is one of the largest proven reserves of crude oil in the world and is recognized by the federal government as a strategi-cally important resource.

That year also saw the establishment of Syncrude Canada Ltd., which has since grown into one of the largest producers of crude oil from the oil sands and one of the largest industrial employers of Aboriginal people in Canada. At the same time, we helped pioneer technology to develop Canada’s largest deposit of oil in an environmentally responsible manner.

Over the last 50 years, Syncrude’s am-bitions have been big and the results have been nothing short of remarkable. As our chairman Ryan Kubik says, “Syncrude has helped invent this industry.”

We were the first oil sands company to develop a formal Aboriginal relations and Aboriginal procurement program to share successes with our Aboriginal partners. Syncrude was the first oil sands developer to ship one billion barrels of crude oil, and did it six years ahead of schedule. At the same time, we made returning the land impacted by our operation back to nature a sustained focus for our organi-zation. In fact, Syncrude was the first oil sands company to receive a reclamation

Dreaming Big

certificate from the Alberta government for a forested area, called Gateway Hill, which was once part of a mine.

I’m pleased to lead Syncrude into the next stage of its proud history and contin-ue to strive for greatness. We’re investing about $3 billion in new technologies to manage tailings, helping reclaim the original landscape more quickly. Never satisfied to rest on our laurels, Syncrude continues to push new technologies for-ward and build new relationships in the local communities.

Over the next 50 years, this com-pany will continue to lead. Syncrude’s ambitions have always been big, and that won’t change. We’ll continue to improve our environmental performance, build on our relationships with Aboriginal communities, invest in the communities where we operate and make important contributions to the local, provincial and national economy.

Syncrude’s leadership over the years comes from our employees, who devel-oped and delivered on the vision that began in 1964 and grew over the years. We’re proud of what they’ve accom-plished and know they’ll continue to lead Syncrude and the industry in the next 50 years.

SUMMER 2014

PUBLISHERRuth Kelly

[email protected]

EXECUTIVE EDITORPaul Manuel

DIRECTOR OF CUSTOM CONTENTMifi Purvis

[email protected]

EDITORGeoffrey Morgan

[email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITORLyndsie Bourgon

ART DIRECTORCharles Burke

[email protected]

ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTORSAndrea de Boer

Colin Spence

PRODUCTION MANAGERBetty Feniak Smith

PRODUCTION TECHNICIANSBrent Felzien, Brandon Hoover

VICE-PRESIDENT, SALESAnita McGillis

[email protected]

Contributing WritersDarren Campbell, Caleb Caswell,

David DiCenzo, Martin Dover, Steve Macleod, Asheligh Mattern, Alex Migdal, Theodore White,

Shannon Sutherland Smith, Richelle Wiseman

Contributing PhotographersBrian Buchsdruecker, John Gaucher,

Darren Jaknisky, Joey Podlubny, Roth and Ramberg, Constantine Tanusik, Curtis Trent

Cornerstone is published by Venture Publishing Inc. for Syncrude Canada Ltd.

10259 105th StreetEdmonton, AB T5J 1E3

Toll Free: 1-866-227-4276www.venturepublishing.ca

Syncrude Canada Ltd.P.O. Bag 4023

Fort McMurray, AB T9H 3H5Tel: 1-800-667-9494www.syncrude.com

Non-deliverable mail should be directed to Syncrude Canada’s head office.

Syncrude is one of the largest producers of crude oil from Canada’s oil sands and the largest industrial

employer of Aboriginal people in Canada.

Contents copyright 2014 by Syncrude Canada Ltd. No part of this publication may be reproduced

without written consent.

Our members have put in over 280 million hours on Syncrude jobs. That’s a point of pride for us. We look forward to getting our hands dirty

to build on that success.

Congratulations on your first 50 years.

From your partners and friends at Building Trades of Alberta

WE BUILT SOMETHING TOGETHER.

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We will maintain our current level of innovation over the next 50 years

FORWARD

Mark WardChief Executive OfficerSyncrude Canada Ltd.


Our members have put in over 280 million hours on Syncrude jobs. That’s a point of pride for us. We look forward to getting our hands dirty

to build on that success.

Congratulations on your first 50 years.

From your partners and friends at Building Trades of Alberta

WE BUILT SOMETHING TOGETHER.

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1-888-finning | finning.ca (346-6464)

WHEREVER THERE’S MINING. WE’RE THERE.With the industry’s broadest line of mining equipment, technology and services, we have solutions that are right for you.

A Union that Works www.clac.ca

CLAC Congratulates Syncrude on its 50th Anniversary!


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“Lots of Syncrude employees had five-year plans, but they’re still working here today.”– Michelle Bailey, manager of Club 63 North

Syncrude is building a community alongside its growing oil sands production

Making a Home

WHEN MICHELLE BAILEY followed her dad and uncle to Fort McMurray from St. John’s, Newfoundland, in 1983, she wasn’t sure how long she would stick around. At the time, a trailer served as the airport that she flew into with her daughter. “My dad said, ‘Don’t freak out, it’s really not that far out in the boonies,’ ” recalls Bailey, manager of Club 63 North, Syncrude’s employee social club.

Bailey didn’t freak out, and after graduating from a Keyano College business program, she was hired by Syncrude as a payroll analyst in January 1989, joining her late father and uncle at the company. Bailey has an aunt and cousin currently working for Syncrude, her husband is a retired Syncrude employee and her brother spent a bit of time in Fort McMurray working at Syncrude. “I come from a long line of Syncrude employees,” Bailey says. “Together, my family has about 125 years of service.”

BETWEEN 1964 AND 1981, Fort McMurray graduated from town to city status as the popula-tion exploded from 1,200 to more than 30,000 people. Syncrude played a key role in the region’s growth by encouraging workers to become permanent residents in the community, helping to establish neighbourhoods and assisting employees with a first-time homebuyers program.

“I got my first house through the program, and it was in the Abasand neighbourhood, which is basically a Syncrude community,” says Bailey.

Club 63 North has been work-ing since 1976 to provide active and retired Syncrude employees with social and community events. The non-profit club is managed by Bailey, supported

by employee volunteers and governed by a board of Syncrude employees. It was initially launched to host children’s Christmas parties. Club 63 North now puts on a number of events and provides its members with discounts for key entertainment events including the Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton Eskimos games, among other offerings.

MICHELLE BAILEY


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A PLACE TO CALL HOME: Wood Buffalo mayor Melissa Blake says that having permanent residents like Syncrude employees in the community is a huge benefit.

FAST FACT: Fort McMurray’s average annual population growth is approximately five per cent, making it one of the fastest-growing communities in North America. Source: CAPP, Statistics Canada

Since the Syncrude joint venture was formed in 1964, the organization has worked at developing a family-oriented community at the same pace they’ve been developing the oil sands. When construction began at the original plant site in 1973, Syncrude also began development of the Thickwood neighbourhood, giving workers a strong communi-ty to call home.

“When I first came up here, the town was smaller and your co-workers were also your friends,” Bailey says. “Not as many people had their families with them, so your co-workers were your family too.”

MELISSA BLAKE, MAYOR OF THE Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, also lived in Syncrude housing when she first moved to the region in 1982. “My parents were part of the Syncrude housing development and now I’ve been here, and my children are here,” Blake says. “Syncrude was one of the founding members in the region, and they’ve had a huge part

in establishing and growing Fort McMurray.”

Syncrude currently invests more than $6 million annually into the Wood Buffalo community. That kind of support and positive relationship between industry and the city has been essential in helping Fort McMurray grow along with production from the oil sands, especially during the boom periods of the late-1970s and mid-2000s.

“It’s impossible for companies to exist without employees, and it’s impossible for employees to exist without a community. The ability to grow job satisfaction is greatly elevated when a worker’s family is nearby,” Blake says. “The advan-tages for the community of having citizens as opposed to fly-in

workers are huge. It’s imperative from the perspective of the com-munity that we attract workers to be permanent residents.”

During her time as a benefits coordinator, Bailey met several new Syncrude employees that planned to make a bit of money and leave Fort McMurray. But just like Bailey, those temporary plans turned into a lifelong career. “Lots of them had five-year plans, but they’re still working here today,” Bailey says.

“The social club brings our employees together. It’s very important and gives employees options for doing things as a family and socially with their colleagues,” Bailey says. “Syncrude has made people want to stay in Fort McMurray.”

NO FLY ZONE: Syncrude encourages its employees to live in the region and does not fly workers in and out of Fort McMurray for work shifts – with one notable exception. The company flies staff in from Fort Chipewyan because the only road connecting the community with Fort McMurray is an ice road that is operational only in the winter months.

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START UP


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THERE ARE 52 YEARS separating Lawrence Bourque and his 20-year-old grandson Randy Bourque, which may seem like an eternity in some families. Randy, however, has a different perspective.

The fact that he and his grandfa-ther have shared experiences working at Syncrude Canada Ltd., Randy says, helps bridge that age difference, and helps them relate to one another. “It’s cool, with such a big age gap between my

grandfather and me, to still be able to talk about a place where he worked before I was even born,” Randy says.

Randy represents the third generation of Bourques to work at Syncrude since Lawrence, who is now retired, moved his family from Saint John, New Brunswick, to Fort McMurray in 1976. Lawrence had been employed at the Irving Oil refinery in New Brunswick before moving west, and says that although it was a great job,

he didn’t see the type of job and economic growth on the East Coast that would benefit his kids.

Lawrence’s son Dan recalls, “When we arrived in town in 1976, the population was less than 20,000 and infrastructure was already beginning to be stressed; for example, I attended high school from 6 a.m. until noon and my brother Gary attended junior high from noon until 6 p.m. in the same facility, the Peter Pond School.” Both boys saw the rapid growth

THREE GENERATIONS: Dan (left), Randy (middle) and Gary Bourque (right) followed in the footsteps of their father and grandfather to establish careers at Syncrude.

Family MattersThree generations of the Bourque family have built careers at Syncrude

“For us, this is home and both Syncrude and the community have been great.”– Dan Bourque, lifelong resident of Fort McMurray

START UP


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FAST FACT: Oil travels through a pipeline at four to eight kilometres per hour, roughly walking speed.Natural gas moves through a pipeline at up to 40 kilometres per hour, about the speed of an Olympic runner. Source: Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada.

in population, as barely a week went by without a new classmate arriving from another part of the country or another part of the world whose parents came to work in the oil sands.

Dan Bourque, Lawrence’s son and Randy’s uncle, currently works as the training leader in the Mildred Lake mining and extraction division. He joined the company in 1979, three years after his father, just as Fort McMurray was starting to really grow. Three years later, Randy’s father Gary joined the company. Currently he’s the manager of a major project and has, like his brother, had the opportunity to work in a number of different roles over his 30-plus years at Syncrude. “That’s been the best thing – all the different career opportunities and being able to

move around and not have to leave the company,” Gary says. “It has kept me totally engaged.”

Gary and Dan both believe that with Syncrude, Randy also has a great opportunity to have a lifelong career, and his current position as a steamfitter/pipefitter is a good beginning. Randy says he’s had great encouragement from his family to work for Syncrude, noting that he’s been able to buy a house through the company housing assistance program and believes the quality of life is too good to pass up. “The way I look at it is, you see people moving here from all over the world to work at these companies,” he says. “Why run away from it?”

At one point in 1983, all five members of the Bourque family were employed by Syncrude.

Lawrence’s wife, Luci, worked for Syncrude’s Northward Developments housing arm and his daughter Lori worked in office services.

“Growing up in Fort McMurray has been an incredible experience for our family,” Gary notes. “My brother, sister, and I have gone on to starting families of our own. The opportunities to become immersed in all the sports and cultural aspects of the town have always been there if you took the time to look, and they continue to expand every year.”

“Mom and dad said they moved to Fort McMurray to provide future opportunities for the family” Dan says. “And they were right. For us, this is home and both Syncrude and the community have been great.”


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The Northern Alberta MosaicCulturally diverse Fort McMurray is like a miniature United Nations

WHEN FORMER SYNCRUDE CANADA LTD. CEO Scott Sullivan was invited to give a short speech at beginning of the Fort McMurray Chinese-Canadian Cultural Society’s Lunar New Year celebrations, very few in the audience expected him to give his introductory remarks in Mandarin.

While Sullivan self-effacingly says the remarks were fairly basic, he nevertheless impressed the attendees and was met with a standing ovation. Fort McMurray may be a remote community, but as Sullivan discovered, it’s extremely diverse.

The Chinese-Canadian Cultural Society is one of many cultural organizations across the city. “I didn’t expect that in moving to northern Alberta,” Sullivan admits.

Looking around the lunchroom at Syncrude’s Base Plant operation, the diversity of faces reflects the cultural diversity of the wider community. Syncrude is like a miniature United Nations, employing people from all over the world – all of whom are forging their own ties with the community.

ACFA REGIONALE DE WOOD BUFFALOWhat it does: Part of the wider Association Canadienne-Francaise de l’Alberta, the Wood Buffalo chapter describes itself as at the service of the Franco-phone community in the city.Did you know? The ACFA Regionale de Wood Buffalo estimates that 10 per cent of the city of Fort McMurray can speak French.

FORT MCMURRAY CHINESE-CANADIAN CULTURAL SOCIETYWhat it does: Promotes the “cultural, intellectual, physical and social well-being of people living in Fort McMurray” and operates the Chinese Heritage School.Did you know? The Chinese-Canadian Cultural Society won best overall float at the Canada Day Parade in 2013.

BANGLADESHI SOCIETY OF WOOD BUFFALOWhat it does: One of the newest cultural associations in Wood Buffalo, the Bangladeshi society was founded in 2012. The organization’s goal is to help newcomers “navigate their way in this ‘City of Hope.’”Did you know? Bangladeshi families started arriving in Fort McMurray in 2002.

HINDU CULTURAL SOCIETY OF FORT MCMURRAYWhat it does: Promotes Hindu values and culture and helps integrate Hindu religious value with Canadian values “by participating in Canadian functions and multicultural activities.”Did you know? The Hindu Cultural Society invited an acclaimed magician Jitendra Raghuvir from India for a magic show and workshop in Fort McMurray in early March.NIGERIAN CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF

FORT MCMURRAYWhat it does: Promotes Nigerian culture and tradi-tions to the general community in many different ways, including through social activities and sports.Did you know? Formed in 2007, the Nigerian Canadi-an Association of Fort McMurray participates in a yearly spring cleanup of litter in the community.

MARKAZ UL ISLAMWhat it does: The Markaz Ul Islam mosque in Fort McMurray serves as a house of worship and runs an Islamic school in the city, giving the city’s Muslims a place to meet.Did you know? Fort McMurray was home to the north-ernmost mosque in Canada until the construction of the Islamic Centre in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.

START UP

Congratulations on 50 yearsof Building Partnerships, Community,

and Prosperity.

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and Prosperity.

Proud to be a partner in your vision.

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TRUDY BOOSTROM DREAMS of one day becoming a ticketed electrician. Thanks to support from Syncrude, the fourth-year apprentice is close to making that dream a reality.

In 2008, the company commit-ted $2 million to Fort McMurray’s Keyano College for the creation of the Syncrude Aboriginal Trades Program (SATP), which took in its first cohort of students in 2009. The SATP program offered Aboriginal people the

chance to study at Keyano Col-lege for seven months, followed by a six-week job shadow. The program was designed to lead successful candidates to full-time employment with Syncrude, pending the outcome of an apprenticeship entrance exam.

Boostrom continues to work her way toward journeyperson status, which she says has helped her provide for her family and has allowed her to establish a rewarding career. For Syncrude,

Everybody Wins

Boostrom’s hard work and dedi-cation so far is just one example that highlights the potential of the program. For Boostrom, being an early participant and an example to other Aboriginal women is important.

“I’m extremely proud,” she says. “I’m a mother and it’s challenging to complete something success-fully and still manage being a mom and looking after the needs of my family. That’s one of the biggest hurdles for Aboriginal

A HELPING HAND: Now that Trudy Boostrom has been through the Syncrude Aboriginal Trades Program, she wants to help other Aboriginal men and women.

SATP helps develop an underrepresented talent pool and benefits Aboriginal neighbours

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David van Leenen Jonathan W McCully, CD www.sharekco.com

Congratulations Syncrudeon 50 years of success andyour continued commitmentto a sustainable future.

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“I want to help get Aboriginal men and women through this program, and keep them here and keep them providing for their families.”

women.” Boostrom credits help from her family – her husband, children and extended family – for supporting her through the process. She also says that she is “extremely grateful” to her team at Syncrude for supporting her and being patient with her as she learns the trade.

Boostrom isn’t the only person at Syncrude who’s proud of her accomplishments. Annie Lawley, maintenance manager with Syncrude and chair of the apprenticeship committee, says that Boostrom’s passionate endorsement of the program and pride in nearing the finish line makes her a great ambassador for the SATP. “She doesn’t just want the program for herself, she wants it for the people in her community,” Lawley says.

Lawley says she has had con-versations with direct supervisors for several SATP participants, all

of whom are making their way towards journeyperson status, and all rave about the hard work and dedication shown by the apprentices.

“It’s a win for the company, for the Aboriginal communities and also for the people who emerge with rewarding careers, and not just jobs,” Lawley says. As a ticketed millwright, she says that working in a trade provides Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal workers alike with greater financial stability and a rewarding long-term career.

“Obtaining my electrical ticket is my goal; it will ensure that I’ll be able to take care of my fam-ily, and that I’ll be able to retire comfortably, all the way down to medical and dental benefits and the types of benefits that some people take for granted,” Boos-trom says. “There are so many amazing benefits to working here.”

That doesn’t mean the four-year apprentice program she’s been working through has been easy. Boostrom says she gets up at 5:30 a.m. every day, in good and bad weather, to get herself to work – and work hard.

Even though it’s been a challenging journey with the oc-casional setback, Boostrom says she will continue to recommend the program to other Aboriginal people in her community. “I’m so passionate about it now,” she says. “Going from where I was in life to where I am now, I want to be hands-on and help this program. I want in. I want to help with the curriculum, I want to help with the mentoring and I want to help in any way that I can to get Aboriginal men and women through this program and keep them here and keep them providing for their families because everybody wins.”

– Trudy Boostrom,on her way to a ticket

ANOTHER STANDOUT: Tabitha Quintal is another one of several SATP success stories inspiring others in her community.

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SYNCRUDE’S RELATIONSHIPS with the post-secondary and research world have been ongoing for nearly 50 years, and it’s no surprise. Syncrude started as a research organization and has kept up links to the academic world, furthering the company’s business and technologies. Over the past five years, it has funded more than $18 million in research programs, and has provided millions more for scholarships, learning programs and campus infrastructure.

UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA With Dr. John Grace, from the university’s chemical and bioengineering department, Syncrude has been working since the late 1980s in the upgrading sector and fluidization. His connections to the University of Ottawa and Dalhousie University stretch his research across the whole country.

KEYANO COLLEGEIn 2008, Syncrude committed $5 million to Keyano College for the Syncrude Aboriginal Trades Preparation program and the Oil Sands Power and Process Lab. Syncrude also runs a wildlife survey proj-ect with Keyano College. It is measuring the presence of large terrestrial mammals on the Syncrude site and comparing it with surrounding areas.

MACEWAN UNIVERSITY Syncrude’s 2012 donation of $250,000 to MacEwan University’s Bachelor of Science in the Engineering Transfer program supports the program’s Engi-neering Boot Camp, the Engineering SolidWorks Workshop and the Student Research Showcase.

QUEEN’S UNIVERSITYThe Queen’s School of Computing is researching monitoring of vibrating screens, a sieve-like process that separates uncrushed rock and debris from the oil sands. The university is developing technology to help Syncrude measure the wear on the screens.

UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTASyncrude’s $500,000 donation in 2011 to the University of Alberta supports the Discover E and WISEST (Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology) outreach programs for K-12 students in the Wood Buffalo region. The Discover E program, led by the U of A’s Faculty of Engineering, helps students experience the excite-ment of engineering, science and technology.

UNIVERSITY OF SASKATCHEWAN Syncrude committed more than $1.3 million in 2012 towards geoscientist Dr. Lee Barbour’s Hydrogeological Characterization of Oil Sands Mine Closure Landforms research into the performance of reclaimed mining areas.

“University collaboration has been really important to us, because it helps expand our capability, and we leverage bright people to work on our problems, both the professors and the students,” says Jim Kresta, a research programs advisor at Syncrude.

From research on the Sandhill Fen watershed to process control to tailings research, Canadian universities have played a key role in advancing Syncrude’s business. In many cases, Syncrude has gone

on to hire the graduates from these programs.

There are even international ties. Syncrude has partnered with the University of Hong Kong, Princeton, Rice University and the University of Southern Illinois. “They help us under-stand the fundamentals, and we apply their research to solve our problems,” says Kresta. Within Canada, Syncrude’s partnerships with post-secondary institutions are ongoing.

Academic BondsSyncrude has benefited from the work of the world’s top researchers, and vice versa

NAITSyncrude partnered with NAIT in 2008 and provided a $1 million contribution to help build, expand and equip labs and classrooms in the NAIT Spartan Centre for Instrumentation Technology.

START UP

Technology Special evenTS • ScholarShipS/endowmenTS/BurSarieS/awardS/programming • infraSTrucTure

Congratulations S yn Cru de

on 50 years of innovation and community involvement

Gala • Golf • One-on-One • Affair for the Arts • Syncrude Arts Alive Series • Environmental Studies • Trades & Industrial • Career Preparation • Aboriginal StudiesAdult Literacy • Student Support • Athletics • Syncrude Technology Centre • Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre • Oil Sands and Proess Engineering Lab

You have played an integral role in helping us become a leader in post-secondary education.We thank you for your continued support of our programs, facilities, events, students and more!

keyano.ca

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Technology Special evenTS • ScholarShipS/endowmenTS/BurSarieS/awardS/programming • infraSTrucTure

Congratulations S y n Crude

on 50 years of innovation and community involvement

Gala • Golf • One-on-One • Affair for the Arts • Syncrude Arts Alive Series • Environmental Studies • Trades & Industrial • Career Preparation • Aboriginal StudiesAdult Literacy • Student Support • Athletics • Syncrude Technology Centre • Syncrude Sport & Wellness Centre • Oil Sands and Proess Engineering Lab

You have played an integral role in helping us become a leader in post-secondary education.We thank you for your continued support of our programs, facilities, events, students and more!

keyano.ca

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Syncrude has 50 reasons to celebrate in 2014! We’re grateful to have been a part of 29 of them.

Happy 50th Birthday Syncrude Canada Ltd.

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CONGRATULATIONS SYNCRUDE CANADA ON YOUR 50TH YEAR.Ledcor’s expertise in delivering fully integrated services provides clients and partners solutions to successfully execute complex projects while supporting operations and future development plans.

We look forward to your next 50 years of success!


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FAST FACT: Syncrude is investing $2.7 billion to implement tailings management technologies. Source: Canadian Oil Sands Limited

WHILE RIDING THE 125-kilometre GranFondo cycling race in Kelowna, B.C. in 2012, Patrick Dardis was struck by inspiration. “I was riding with 900 other people and I just thought, ‘we need something like this in Fort McMurray,’ ” says Dardis, a project manager with Syncrude.

Three months later, the Wood Buffalo Cycling Club was incorporated as a not-for-profit society. Syncrude supported Dardis’s efforts in founding the club by providing financial support through its Community

Investment program, which included money to register the club with the province and create a website to build a presence in the community.

Syncrude’s charitable efforts are as old as the organization itself. In 1978, the company shipped its first barrel of oil and hosted the inaugural campaign kickoff meeting for United Way Fort McMurray. Syncrude has supported United Way ever since, and raised $2.46 million in donations during its 2013 workplace campaign. “That’s not just a corporate cheque; it is

employees getting involved and making a difference,” says Diane Shannon, executive director with United Way Fort McMurray.

Shannon says Syncrude’s involvement isn’t just important for United Way’s initiatives but also for the entire community. United Way Fort McMurray invests all the money raised under its umbrella back into the region through more than 70 different programs.

“Syncrude really makes United Way a part of its corporate cul-ture to get involved and make a difference,” she says. “And it does

Rubber Meets the RoadCommunity support spans many initiatives, from a 36-year history with United Way Fort McMurray to a brand new inclusive cycling club

GRATEFUL FOR GOOD NEIGHBOURS: United Way Fort McMurray executive director Diane Shannon says Syncrude’s support for the community is woven into the company’s corporate culture.

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WOOD BUFFALO CYCLING CLUB: Syncrude project manager Patrick Dardis helped establish Fort McMurray’s first cycling club.

Diane Shannon says Syncrude’s involvement isn’t just important for United Way’s initiatives, but also for the entire community.

this with other social enterprises and charitable organizations in the community as well.”

Syncrude employees who volunteer in the workplace campaign gain valuable leader-ship development experience and move on to serve prominent roles with other organizations in the charitable sector. “They chair boards at other organizations or committees here at United Way,” she says. “It’s important for the community to get people engaged and involved.”

Dardis hopes to use his experience to build more interest in youth cycling when his club hosts more than 300 cyclists at the Alberta Bicycle Association’s Road Provincial Championships on August 24, 2014. The event will serve as a test run for the cycling road events featured during the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games in Fort

McMurray, which Syncrude will also sponsor. At the provincials, cyclists will complete between four and seven loops of the 16-kilometre course.

Dardis also began working with city council two years ago to develop a bike skills park, and he expects construction to begin this year. The park is modelled after the Valmont Bike Park in Boulder, Colorado, which boasts mountain bike trails and BMX

obstacles. “It’s not my kind of riding, but the youth like it,” Dardis says, noting the club’s 25 members include both road cyclists and mountain bikers. This summer, the cycling club will also host the Trailblazers youth races, designed to encour-age youth of all ages and abilities to try competitive mountain biking, making it fully accessible to young people across Alberta.

NEIGHBOURLY ACTIONSSyncrude supports community involvement among its

employees and retirees through the company’s Good Neighbours Program. The program provides grants to non-profits where employ-ees and retirees volunteer their time.

In 2013, Syncrude distributed $116,000 to 70 non-profit organi-zations through the efforts of nearly 200 Syncrude employees and retirees. Syncrude also provided dozens of busing grants, valued at $80,000, to many of the same organizations to offset the cost of travel to out-of-town tournaments and events.

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® Registered trademark of T.D. Williamson, Inc. in the United States and in other countries. ™ Trademark of T.D. Williamson, Inc. in the United States and in other countries. ©Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. T.D. Williamson, Inc.

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Golden AnniversaryThe former Edmonton mayor knows that Syncrude’s success has been of an operational and community-building nature in northern Alberta

to our post-secondary institutions across Alberta.

And as much as the company was a pioneer in advancing the oil sands, it was also very quick to understand the importance of building strong relationships with our First Nations and Métis communities. Since 1992, it has procured over $2 billion in services and supplies from Aboriginal-owned companies, creating enormous opportunities for the communities in which it operates. Equally important is

HAPPY 50TH ANNIVERSARY Syncrude! Reaching this mile-stone is a remarkable achievement for any company – but especially for one whose goals seemed so audacious at its beginning. Its success was achieved by proving the unproven and building community alongside so many of Alberta’s northern settlements.

Syncrude’s success, its best achievements, has not been only stories of innovation and business risk – though they certainly can speak strongly here – but also of success in the community.

I will always believe that com-munity building was an essential pillar of Syncrude’s success. The company’s presidents – Eric Newell, Jim Carter and most recently Scott Sullivan – have all been strong community builders, building their corporate headquarters and lives in Wood Buffalo.

Over the years, Syncrude’s community contribution has been integral to institutions like Keyano College and its Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre as well as public schools and arts organizations. The spirit of the company is carried forward every day by its employees who play active roles in their communities as well as coaches, organizational leaders and active volunteers. This is the Syncrude way.

Syncrude’s impact is not just felt in the North, but during my time as mayor of Edmonton I witnessed the impacts of its contributions to research at the University of Alberta and for groups like the Stollery Children’s Hospital, the Mazankowski Heart Institute and

Syncrude’s hiring policy, which is inclusive, drawing nine per cent of its workforce from Aboriginal communities.

This is a model for corporate participation, vision and commitment. Yes: Syncrude has been a very successful Alberta story, which we should be very proud of, but it is also a company that understands community. Congratulations on 50 great years and all the best for the next 50.

– Stephen Mandel

STEPHEN MANDEL

Much as Syncrude was a pioneer in advancing the oil sands, it also understood the importance of strong relationships with our First Nations and Métis communities.

IN THE COMMUNITY


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DANIEL AND DORIS BONA

NEIGHBOURS


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Daniel is now acting as an ambassador for Syncrude, encouraging others to join the company, just like his mother and father encouraged him to start his career in the oil sands.

BY Geoffrey Morgan • PHOTOGRAPHY Roth and Ramberg

For the Bona family, Syncrude-supported volunteerism is just a part of the company culture

Like Mother, Like Son

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN Daniel Bona was considered something of a rarity. “Anywhere I go, even in Alberta, people ask, ‘Where are you from?’ I say, ‘I’m from Fort McMurray.’ They say, “No, where are you really from?’ ”

There is an increasing number of people like Daniel, who were born and raised in Fort McMur-ray and continue to call the place home. Both of Daniel’s parents worked at Syncrude Canada Ltd., and his mother, Doris Bona, has been with the company since 1979 when she worked with its housing arm, Northward Developments. She now works in human resourc-es and says she has always been supportive of her son working at the company. “Syncrude has provided me lots of opportunities and it’s provided me great benefits as well,” she says.

Daniel joined Syncrude in February 2010, after completing his schooling at Grande Prairie Community College in Fairview. This was at a time when few other companies were hiring and most were still reeling from the global recession.

“When I got the job offer from Syncrude, it was a no-brainer,” he says. He started as a heavy- duty mechanic second year apprentice and eventually earned his journeyman’s ticket working on the heavy-haul trucks, including

the 400-tonne Caterpillar 797s.In the time since Doris moved

to Fort McMurray (from Legal, Alberta) and as Daniel has grown up in the community, the mother-and-son pair says the city and community have grown by leaps and bounds. “We built our house in 1984,” she says, “and that was just the third house on the block.” The population of Fort McMurray has more than tripled in that time, from 35,352 people in 1984 to 116,407 people at the last census.

Both Doris and Daniel are com-mitted to the community where their careers have flourished. Doris says that she is especially thankful to Syncrude for allowing her to work on a partial schedule so that she could spend more time with her children when they were growing up. As a result, Doris frequently took them to join her in volunteering at the local soup kitchen. The volunteer contribu-tion has had a strong effect on her son Daniel.

In addition to his work on Syncrude’s heavy-haul trucks, Daniel is now a volunteer with the company’s fire department. “My dad used to work in Syncrude’s upgrading area, so if we got a fire call involving that area, I would talk to him and he would be able to explain the product and process to me.” Daniel also tours with the company to career fairs in the

local community and beyond. He has helped out at the career fair at his own high school and has gone with the company to a Skills Canada competition and career fair in Edmonton.“Syncrude sponsored a program called ‘Try a Trade’ at the compe-tition,” Daniel says. “So we had a big booth set up near the heavy duty mechanic section, where we had a whole bunch of different activities for the kids to try out.” In the end, he says there were roughly 5,000 kids who were able to try being a heavy-duty mechanic over the course of a few days. In this way, Daniel is now acting as an ambassador for Syncrude, encouraging others to join the company, just like his mother and father encour-aged him to start his career in the oil sands.

GROWING UP TOGETHERThe population of Fort McMurray has grown dramatically since Syncrude’s incorporation in 1964.1964 – 1,3031974 – 9,5421984 – 35,352 1994 – 34,7062004 – 67,105 2014 – 116,000 (estimated)


CONGRATULATIONSSYNCRUDE

WWW.MIDLITE.CA

MIDLITE would like to congratulate Syncrude on this exciting milestone! We applaud you on this incredible level of achievement, as an industry leader in the oil sands for 50 years!

Midlite Powerline Construction Ltd., Is an aboriginal and privately owned local company by Rocky Buksa; was founded in 1989 and began working with Syncrude in 2000. Since then Midlite has had the privilege of building a strong and successful partnership with the Syncrude management team and its staff. Numerous successful projects include the construction of a new 260 kV line between D-05 and G-01, 72 kV construction during UE1, 72 kV construction on the MLMR project, 72 kV construction and demo for the AMR project and all 72 kV and construction power for the MLMR project.

“Syncrude has played a transformative role in the oil sands industry and their high standards of integrity, ethics and commitment to safety has assisted in their achievements over 50 years. Congratulations Syncrude we wish you many more decades of success.”

on a successful 50 years!

ROCKY BUKSAPresident

CURTIS NELSONGeneral Manager

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CONGRATULATIONSSYNCRUDE

WWW.MIDLITE.CA

MIDLITE would like to congratulate Syncrude on this exciting milestone! We applaud you on this incredible level of achievement, as an industry leader in the oil sands for 50 years!

Midlite Powerline Construction Ltd., Is an aboriginal and privately owned local company by Rocky Buksa; was founded in 1989 and began working with Syncrude in 2000. Since then Midlite has had the privilege of building a strong and successful partnership with the Syncrude management team and its staff. Numerous successful projects include the construction of a new 260 kV line between D-05 and G-01, 72 kV construction during UE1, 72 kV construction on the MLMR project, 72 kV construction and demo for the AMR project and all 72 kV and construction power for the MLMR project.

“Syncrude has played a transformative role in the oil sands industry and their high standards of integrity, ethics and commitment to safety has assisted in their achievements over 50 years. Congratulations Syncrude we wish you many more decades of success.”

on a successful 50 years!

ROCKY BUKSAPresident

CURTIS NELSONGeneral Manager

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BRAIN POWER: Richard Maslanko builds on 50 years of Syncrude research.

BY Theodore White • PHOTOGRAPH BY Curtis Trent

Before Syncrude produced its first barrel of oil, the company spent years in research and development

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Before Syncrude produced its first barrel of oil, the company spent years in research and development

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YNCRUDE’S 78,000-SQUARE-FOOT lab splays out across nearly a hectare of land in the Edmonton Research Park. At the entrance, four long rows of plaques bearing patents obtained by the company’s scientists stretch across the lobby towards an aquarium, where two

koi and one goldfish swim in water taken from a tailings pond.

The water is clear and the fish are swimming in it because it was filtered through petroleum coke, a byproduct of Syncrude’s process of upgrading bitumen into crude oil. This research project is now being tested on a larger scale, and it’s responsible for another of the plaques mounted on the wall. It rep-resents one of 140 patents earned by Syncrude, which began researching how to develop the oil sands 14 years before mining its first barrel of crude oil.

THE LEGEND OF MR. INVENTIONRichard Maslanko knows every crevice of the Syncrude Research & Development Centre. One of 100 staff at the facility, the 58-year-old researcher was here when it opened in its new location in 1994. He knows the original research centre on the eastern edge of Edmonton well, too, working there for nearly 20 years before Syncrude outgrew its walls.

Donning a worn blue lab coat, the pockets practically overflowing with every colour of pen and highlighter, he looks back fondly on his first day with the company in 1976. By then, Syncrude’s team of 40 engineers and scientists had made several breakthroughs. The first came in 1966 with Patent No. 1, a small gain in fluid treatment by Lubomyr Cymbalisty, known to colleagues as Mr. Invention because he’d garnered dozens of oil sands technol-ogy patents.

A number of patents from 1966 demonstrate Cymbalisty’s ingenuity and explain Syncrude’s rise into one of Canada’s largest producers of crude oil. From Patent No. 2, (“Process and Apparatus for Stripping Solids from Bituminous Sands”) to No. 5 (“Tar Sand Extraction”), the goal was simply to wring that stubborn oil from the sand.

“Most of the research was focused on bitumen extraction,” Maslanko says. At the time, the compa-ny was still focused on how best to recover energy from oil sands – a question that Maslanko says first captured his imagination in the ninth grade. “The teacher showed us the oil sands in a jar and I said, ‘Wow that looks like asphalt.’ But it was malleable. I smelled it and it was a very new smell. I touched it and it was just sand with bitumen in it. So how do you best extract the oil in that sand?”

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“We were establishing what the best set of conditions was, or multiple millions of dollars would be lost by being off by just one per cent.”– Richard Maslanko, at home in the lab


Congratulations

Syncrudeon your

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At the time, he would never have guessed how much he’d contribute to answering that question.

A WIDER BENEFIT TO SYNCRUDE’S RESEARCHOne of Maslanko’s early jobs at the research centre was evaluating chemical additives and various water temperatures for extracting bitumen from oil sand, also known as bitumen production. “Establishing bitumen extraction parameters was an early focus,” says Glen Rovang, manager of research and development, who joined the company in 1985.

To this end, Syncrude designed and fabricated a bench top bitumen extraction unit to test various extraction conditions before the best set of condi-tions were further tested on an in-house pilot plant.

“That whole process allowed us to test all conditions before we implemented them on site,” Maslanko explains. “We were establishing what the best set of conditions was, or multiple millions of dollars would be lost by being off by just one per cent.”

Maslanko contributed to another landmark project in 1994, one of the first out of the new research centre. His team was tasked with quantify-ing naphthenic acid, a naturally occurring organic substance found in petroleum sources including oil sands ores. The substance appears in tailings in

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small quantities due to the water-based bitumen extraction process. In fact, because naphthenic acid has surfactant properties, it aids in the separation of oil from water. But its presence in tailings water presents a challenge in ensuring successful mine closure and reclamation. That’s why Maslanko worked to quantify it. Measuring the acid was difficult, but by using an infrared spectrometer Maslanko and his colleagues discovered that naphthenic acid had unique quantifiable infrared absorbances. “We just wanted to understand what was happening in the tailings ponds,” he says. By successfully developing this technique, a long-held problem of easily quantifying naphthenic acid was resolved.

“There was no easy way to quantify naphthenic acid at the time,” he says. “There were expensive ways of doing it, but this was a very easy and quick way. Fast-forward 20 years and we’re still using that naphthenic acid technique we developed with some modifications.” As are Syncrude’s competitors. Quantifying naphthenic acid would help lay the

groundwork for the Base Mine Lake reclamation project 20 years later. It’s an example of discovery research at Syncrude, which spends about $65 million a year on research and development. “Some things require a vision of the future and decades of work to develop and implement,” Rovang says.

NEW BREAKTHROUGHSOther research projects during Syncrude’s early years were based around adapting technology from around the world to northern Alberta’s seasonal fluctuations. Trucks and shovels used in warmer climates or used to mine more concentrated minerals often caused headaches up north. The cold weather affected the metals and lubricants, while the wear from mining oil sands was severe.

“Oil sand is very abrasive,” Maslanko says. “If you have to deal with it while it’s frozen, it’s even tougher.” The Edmonton researchers made many metallurgy and wear-resistance improvements, including modifications to draglines and bucket wheels, though today these have been rendered

20 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN INDUSTRIAL AIR QUALITY SERVICES

FAST FACT: At 10° C, bitumen is as hard as a hockey puck. Source: Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada.

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Rovang says. “The process developments that you see today, compared to what we did before and how efficient it now is, that all comes from ongoing development.”

Though Syncrude’s early years largely focused on the extraction process, now environmental and reclamation research makes up 60 per cent of the company’s research portfolio. The first Syncrude mines are now ready to be reclaimed so Rovang sees the emphasis on environmental research as a natural progression.

The former West mine is at the centre of this new focus. Building off naphthenic acid measuring techniques and the water remediation technology it pioneered, Syncrude is testing methods that could turn this area into an aquatic reclamation land form. Maslanko’s contribution to this effort leaves him optimistic. “In our need for energy in Canada, I feel proud that we are producing it responsibly and the research that we do demonstrates that,” he says. “We’ve had some cool breakthroughs.”

obsolete – thanks in part to another Syncrude patent that Maslanko calls “a game-changer.”

He speaks of hydrotransport. Prior to the first hydrotransport process in 1997, draglines would excavate the oil sand and put it in windrows that bucket wheels dumped onto conveyors that trans-ported the material to the plant’s large tumbler. Now, the oil sand could be mixed with water closer to the mine and moved through a pipeline that would condition it for the extraction process.

That development was a turning point for both Syncrude and the whole industry. It also led to Patent No. 101, “Low Temperature Version of the Hot Water Extraction Process for Oil Sand.” This allowed Syncrude to extract bitumen at 55̊ C, a temperature far lower than was previously required. “It was a significant reduction in energy use,” Rovang says.

Rovang believes Syncrude’s roots as a research company has shaped its culture. “It’s in our blood. Innovation, science and technology development are very much in our DNA. It’s how we started,”

ENGINEERINGFaculty of

University of Albertawww.engineering.ualberta.ca

In 1920, University of Alberta engineering professor Karl Clark began researching ways to develop Alberta’s oil sands, in partnership with the fledgling Alberta Research Council. Dr. Clark developed the original hot-water extraction techniques used in modern oil sands operations. The Faculty of Engineering has continued to be the partner of choice for the responsible development of our natural resources in collaborations with industry and government.

For more information on research partnerships that work, such as our almost 50 years of interaction and collaboration with Syncrude Canada Ltd., visit www.engineering.ualberta.ca/research

A history of successful research partnerships

Though the company’s early years largely focused on extraction, now environment and reclam-ation research makes up 60 per cent of the research portfolio.


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LAND-LOCKED SAILOR: Paul Kearney aboard an Ontario-built boat used to manage Syncrude’s tailings.


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BY Darren Campbell • PHOTOGRAPH BY Roth and Ramberg

Canadians from Vancouver to St. John’s benefit from the oil sands


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FAST FACT: It’s estimated that the oil sands industry will purchase roughly $117 billion in supplies and services from businesses outside Alberta in the next 25 years. Source: CERI

HERE’S A SHIPYARD ON THE COAST of Lake Erie, just down the road from the town centre of Wheatley, Ontario, that has become one of the more unlikely places to benefit from the oil sands in land-locked Alberta.

Hike Metal Products Ltd., a mainstay business of tiny Wheatley (population 2,925) since 1958, is a boat-building company that was contracted by Syncrude Canada Ltd. in 2013 to build two icebreakers and two work boats for the company to use in the management of its tailings. The four boats will help ensure a steady flow of fluid fine tailings (FFT) pumping from the Mildred Lake Settling Basin to the FFT-Centrifuge Full Scale Plant, once construction is complete and the plant is commissioned and handed over to Syncrude.

Hike Metal delivered the two 26-foot aluminum work boats to Syncrude in June 2013, and it expects to have the two 45-foot steel icebreakers by June of 2014. Andy Stanton, president and CEO of Hike Metal, says the Syncrude project represented about 15 jobs at the company, which employed a total of 35 people in 2013. He admits he didn’t think his company would ever be doing work for the oil sands sector, but now he hopes to do more. “This work fits our forté to a tee,” he says. “It’s an interesting project

and there were a number of different challenges we faced. We’re hopeful it will lead to more work in the future.”

THE OIL SANDS REPRESENT MORE THAN JUST an Alberta story. Successful development of the resource is a Canadian story. In the early-2000s, when Syncrude’s Aurora mine was first being com-missioned, Paul Kearney first started to recognize the economic impact his company was having beyond Alberta’s borders.

“The momentum was building at that time, that we were a national name and there was lots of construction work with people coming from all over the country,” says Kearney, who is Syncrude’s manager of project execution. “With that came the recognition of the oil produced out of Fort McMur-ray, and the projections of what was going to be produced in the future. People started to grasp the significance of the oil sands.”

These days, the significance of the oil sands to Canada’s economy is even more apparent. According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Produc-ers, oil sands production was 1.8 million barrels per day in 2012. CAPP forecasts that number will grow to 5.2 million barrels per day by 2030 – a 288 per cent increase. That kind of production growth will

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“This work fits our forté to a tee,” he says. “It’s an interesting project and there were a number of different challenges we faced.”– Andy Stanton, president and CEO of Hike Metal Products Ltd.

BOATING ENTHUSIASTS: Ontario’s Hike Metal hopes to do more work in the oil sands after building four boats for Syncrude.


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FAST FACT: The Caterpillar 797’s parts are made across the U.S., boosting economies in Indiana, Illinois, Louisiana and South Carolina. Source: CAPP

“In the mid- and late-1990s, Syncrude was a leader in every aspect of oil sands extraction, and it understood it had to ensure the benefits of extraction were shared.”– Anne McLellan, former deputy prime minister and minister of natural resources

company based just outside of Montreal supplied and fabricated 3,400 tons of structural steel for the construction of Syncrude’s FFT-Centrifuge Full Scale Plant. The plant is designed to pump fluid fine tailings through a series of centrifuges to separate water from the solids. Like Hike Metal in Ontario, ADF Group hopes its contribution to the tailings management project will lead to more business.

Anne McLellan views the oil sands industry’s growing economic importance from a particular vantage point. Born in East Hants, Nova Scotia, McLellan earned a law degree and worked as a professor in Nova Scotia before moving to Alberta in 1980. From 1993 to 2006 she served as the member of parliament for Edmonton Centre and had a number of high-profile positions in the Liberal government, including deputy prime minister and minister of natural resources.

She says it wasn’t clear in the early 1990s what the future had in store for the oil sands. But she credits Syncrude, and leaders like its former president and CEO Eric Newell, for promoting its benefits across the country, persuading others to invest in developing the resource. “Eric talked to dozens of Chambers of Commerce across the country to explain that this resource wasn’t just about Alberta,” McLellan says. “In the mid- and late 1990s, Syncrude was a leader in every aspect of oil sands extraction, and it understood it had to ensure the benefits of extraction were shared.”

That meant forming relationships and providing business opportunities for First Nations and Métis people in the Wood Buffalo region where the oil sands activity was taking place, but also elsewhere

generate a lot of business opportunity for companies that provide services to the oil sands industry. In fact, a recent study by consultancy firm IHS CERA found that oil sands production supported more than 478,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs in Canada, contributing $91 billion to Canada’s gross domestic product in 2012. By 2025, the study forecasts that jobs from the oil sands will grow to 753,000 and the oil sands contribution to Canada’s GDP will be $171 billion.

Syncrude’s success is certainly more than an Alberta story, too. In 2012, the company produced an average of 286,000 barrels per day and had $7.9 billion in capital projects underway to improve its operations and environmental performance. Kearney and his project execution group are responsible for the engineering and field execution work on Syncrude’s capital sustaining projects, spending approximately $500 million annually on about a dozen projects.

Not all of that work can be done by Alberta com-panies. Kearney says the scale of work required has opened up opportunities for workers and companies all over the country. “These days there just isn’t enough local or even provincial people to do it all at the required pace. That provides opportunity for people right across the country. For the last several years we’ve done recruiting across the country for project managers, construction people and project engineers,” he says. “We’ve gone coast-to-coast for the last three years trying to recruit people, and with a lot of success.”

In Quebec, for example, ADF Group Inc. has also been awarded work in tailings management. The

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in the country. In 2012, $1.32 billion – or 17 per cent – of Syncrude’s total expenditures were spent outside Alberta. Kearney, who hails from New Waterford, a coal mining town on Cape Breton Island, says he sees examples every time he visits home of how Syncrude, and the oil sands sector, is providing employment and opportunities for people from his hometown.

“When I moved out to Fort McMurray 25 years ago, very few people in Nova Scotia knew about it,” Kearney says. “’You’re going where?’ they’d say. They knew about Calgary, Red Deer and Edmon-ton, but now you go back and every second person knows someone who is commuting or who is living in Fort McMurray.”

Clearly, Syncrude’s economic impact on Alberta and Canada has come a long way since it the compa-ny was founded in 1964. Kearney says he feels good about his role at Syncrude and how the company and the sector he works in fits into Canada’s economic picture. “I came here and got in on the ground floor and it’s evolved into a company and an industry that’s providing huge opportunity and economic activity across the country.”

STEEL MAKERS: ADF Group of Montreal supplied and fabricated 3,400 tons of structural steel for the construction of Syncrude’s FFT-Centrifuge Full Scale Plant.


Congratulations Syncrudeon your 50th Anniversary

Toll Free 1-855-560-5050 www.ncsg.com

Safety First! 1805 days/650,033 hours without a lost time incident on Syncrude Sites.

Proudly serving Syncrude Canada Ltd. since 1987

Recipient of the 2014 Trade Contractor of the Year Award

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“They’re looking at things a little bit differently because they’re trained to do so.”

Congratulations Syncrudeon your 50th Anniversary

Toll Free 1-855-560-5050 www.ncsg.com

Safety First! 1805 days/650,033 hours without a lost time incident on Syncrude Sites.

Proudly serving Syncrude Canada Ltd. since 1987

Recipient of the 2014 Trade Contractor of the Year Award

000SYN-NCSG_Crane-FP.indd 1 2014-04-22 8:59 AM

Fit for All SeasonsFirefighters and emergency response teams are among the best in the businessBY Lyndsie Bourgon • PHOTOGRAPHY BY John Gaucher

VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS at Syncrude have bragging rights over the emergency rescue teams of other oil sands operators – and, indeed, other fire departments around the country. In 2013, Syncrude’s volunteer emergency response team won first and third place overall at the national Fire-Fit championships in Edmonton.

Byron Stacey is more than a little proud of his team’s accom-plishments, partly because he was a volunteer brigade member for Syncrude when he first joined the company as an electrician’s apprentice in 1988. After a decade at the company, and a decade as a volunteer on the rescue team, Stacey applied for a full-time position at the fire hall and started as a fire specialist there in 1998. He worked his way up the ladder, to lieutenant, then to captain, then emergency coordinator and now he’s deputy chief.

It’s through the fire hall that Stacey knows first-hand the opportunities Syncrude provides for forging new careers and ac-commodating personal goals. Not only did Stacey become a ticketed electrician while at Syncrude, but through safety and rescue training provided by the firehall, he also completed his emergency medical technician (EMT) training. In fact, Syncrude provides first aid, fire and rescue training for its entire volunteer brigade, all of whom are employed throughout the company’s operations.

As a result, there are dozens of emergency responders with high levels of safety training spread throughout Syncrude’s operations,

from the mine, to the upgrader, to the heavy-duty machine shop and beyond. Stacey says that their training, in addition to the company’s full-time fire specialist team, comprised of EMRs and EMTs, helps to make the company a safer operation. “Our hope is that when they’re out there working,” he says of the volunteer crew, “they’re looking at things a little bit differently because they’re trained to do so.”

He adds that his goal in training new volunteers is to affect changes at “the peer-to-peer level” out in the field, where a volunteer brigade member with fire or rescue training will help his or her co-workers understand exactly why the com-

pany’s safe-work practices should be followed to the letter. The company’s four volunteer brigade shift teams are made up of 16 men and women who receive 160 hours of training in rescue operations, and 50 who receive industrial firefighter training. These 64 complement the work of Syncrude’s 48 full-time fire specialists.

These, Stacey says, are the fire hall’s safety ambassadors throughout the company – and a key component in helping to make Syncrude’s operations a safe workplace. If ever an emergency occurs, it’s Stacey’s team that responds – followed, if necessary, by the volunteer teams spread throughout the operation.

BYRON STACEY

NEIGHBOURS

– Byron Stacey,volunteer firefighter


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Even as Syncrude grows, adding infrastructure to manage its tailings and emissions, it wants to continue being energy self-sufficient.

CHRIS AUSTIN

BY Geoffrey Morgan • PHOTOGRAPHY BY Roth and Ramberg

Keeping the lights on and the taps running is an impressive part of the workday at an industrial operation

Under Pressure

IT WOULD TAKE THREE DAYS to fill a 16-by-32-foot swimming pool with a garden hose. Syncrude Canada Ltd.’s utilities department processes that much water from the Mildred lake reservoir, roughly 20,000 gallons, every minute. It takes approximately 400 people in the utilities organization to produce this and other commodi-ties required by Syncrude.

On its own that number might be impressive. However, the utilities team at Syncrude is also capable of demineralizing 10,000 gallons of water every minute, recirculating approximately 400,000 gallons per minute through the upgrader’s cooling systems, and recycling a further 100,000 gallons per minute used in the extraction process. The sheer volume of water that moves throughout Syncrude’s operation on utilities advisor Chris Austin’s watch is staggering, though most of what the utilities department does is hidden from view.

Except for the piping systems connecting the company’s build-ings and connecting different parts of the company’s upgrader, there is little evidence of the utilities department’s hard work. “We’ve got thousands and thousands of feet of steam lines, water lines, air lines, nitrogen lines and sulphur lines,” Austin says. These lines are the visible reminder that the utilities department produces 7.5 million pounds of steam per hour, 15,000 cubic metres of nitrogen a day and 18,000 cubic feet of air to keep the valves in the company’s upgrader opening and closing properly, and to keep the entire operation heated.

In fact, Syncrude’s operations are heavily integrated with utilities in such a way that the company wastes very little heat. The entire operation is thermally integrated so that heat and water are recycled, not wasted. “We take water out of the tailings pond after the solids have settled out and that water cools the plant processes in the upgrader,” Austin says. “It cools the coker and it cools the diluent recovery units and we recapture that heat. Once that heat is recaptured, utilities then turns the heat up to about 95̊ C and we supply a large amount of that water to extraction.”

The utilities department is the unsung hero of any industrial operation. Its work isn’t always visible, but it’s critical to the company’s continued operations. “Without air compressors, the valves don’t move,” Austin says. Without water, there’s no oil.

Syncrude’s utilities infra-structure is large enough to rival that of a Canadian city. Unlike most cities, however, all of the company’s utilities systems would continue to operate even if Syncrude were disconnected from the province-wide power grid. Austin says that utilities is capable of producing 500 megawatts of power, but that as new projects come online, like the company’s $1.9-billion commercial-scale Fluid Fine Tailings Centrifuge Plant for tailings management, the size of its gas-fired electrical generation will need to grow.

“There was a study and an eval-uation, which was the Syncrude

Utilities Sustainment Project, that looked into the future,” Austin says. “In short, we’re going to need more steam and we’re going to need more electricity.” As a result, the company’s utilities department will add a fifth 75-MW gas-fired generator to increase its total electrical capacity and a new boiler to add 750,000 pounds per hour of steam. This plant will provide an additional source of electricity to help meet the increased demands from new environmental facilities, including centrifuging tailings, while also helping to provide a reliable supply for the overall operation.

“The Mildred Lake mine is moving further away from the upgrader and we have the Aurora mine now sending us material. We’re moving things further and that takes more energy,” Austin says. “We also need to do environ-mental projects to bring our emis-sions down and treat tailings – and that all takes energy.” Even as Syncrude continues to grow, adding additional infrastructure to manage its tailings and emissions, the company wants to continue being energy self-sufficient.Austin says that the ability of utilities to produce the power that Syncrude needs has an added benefit to Syncrude’s bottom line. Being self-sufficient in power production allows Syncrude to keep producing in the event of a power interruption. “Without on-site power production, many systems would stop, and that is not a good idea in the cold weather that we experience here.”


P R O U D T OSUPPORTSYNCRUDE

Serving the Oil and Gas, Oil Sands, Petrochemical, Mining, Pulp & Paper Industries Since 1951

www.kbr.com We Deliver

50

For more than 30 years, KBR has had the privilege of working side-by-side with Syncrude, providing field construction and module and fabrication services for some of its largest and most demanding oil sands projects. We are pleased to salute Syncrude on its golden anniversary and look forward to many more years of successful collaboration.

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“I wanted a change that would put me where the action was, out at the mine.”

P R O U D T OSUPPORTSYNCRUDE

Serving the Oil and Gas, Oil Sands, Petrochemical, Mining, Pulp & Paper Industries Since 1951

www.kbr.com We Deliver

50

For more than 30 years, KBR has had the privilege of working side-by-side with Syncrude, providing field construction and module and fabrication services for some of its largest and most demanding oil sands projects. We are pleased to salute Syncrude on its golden anniversary and look forward to many more years of successful collaboration.

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– John Farrington,still great at the controls

Smooth Landing To spend more time with his family, longtime pilot John Farrington switched careers and learned to drive a heavy-haul truckBY Lyndsie Bourgon • PHOTOGRAPHY BY Roth and Ramberg

FOR MORE THAN A DECADE, John Farrington flew for an airline in northern Ontario – it’s where he and his wife, also a pilot, started their family before moving out to Fort McMurray to embark on careers at Syncrude Canada Ltd. in 2006.

The switch to Fort McMurray meant a slower lifestyle for John and his wife. Syncrude provided them with a family-friendly workplace and schedule; while their kids were young, the Farringtons would work the same shift, while employing a live-in nanny, so they could be at home together with their family. “You’re home every night,” says Farrington, of the benefits to flying for a company like Syncrude. “They were so accommodating when the kids were little; it’s part of why we moved here.” Flying planes for Syncrude meant bringing company employees back and forth between Fort McMurray, Edmonton and Calgary – Farrington kept that job for eight years, rounding out two decades of full-time work as a pilot.

“If you’re doing the same thing for 20 years, you’re kind of looking for a change,” Farrington acknowl-edges. As his children started growing up, he and his wife had decided to work opposite shifts, so that one of them was always home. A change came in the fall of 2013, when he visited his boss and said he was contemplating a move within the company. “They were very good at moving me over to a different field,” says Farrington, who now drives a heavy haul truck in the mine. “I wanted a change that would put me where the action was, out at the mine.”

The switch from one job to another was smooth for Farrington – he was approved to take a one-week job shadow, and he rode around in a heavy hauler with an operator who showed him the ropes. “I thought, this is something I’d like to do.” So he switched over to working at the mine, and in doing so found a new job that he likes, which has also balanced out his home life. “My wife says, ‘Oh, it’s the first time we’ve had a weekday dinner together since forever!’ ” he says. “At this time in our life, it was a good move.”

Farrington found the transition from working in the air to work-ing on ground to be surprisingly

smooth. In fact, he noticed a key of similarity between his career’s two divergent paths at Syncrude: safety. “The safety culture, the attention to detail, it goes hand-in-hand with the culture I grew up in and my career. I was surprised, in a sense, about how easily that translated.”

Easy translation is something the Farrington family has noticed since moving to the city eight years ago, when everything they needed – including a French immersion school for their kids – was available to them. “One thing that’s been consistent is the great people, whether in aviation or the mine,” Farrington says. “The transition has been very smooth.”

JOHN FARRINGTON

NEIGHBOURS


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SYNCRUDE STARTED IN A laboratory and remains a leader in innovation in the oil sands. Even before Syncrude produced its first barrel of oil, its scientists were researching the best way to produce crude from oil sands while reducing its impact on the environment.

1964: Syncrude incorporates with Frank Spragins as its presi-dent and the fledging organiza-tion moves into its new research laboratory, a former oxygen plant, in east Edmonton

1965: The company takes over operation of the Mildred Lake project, which was operating as a 35-tonne-per-hour pilot plant and research facility

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The Early Years

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Heavy equipment operators dig for more than oil sands. Some have unearthed ancient fossils

Reversing

TimeBY Richelle Wiseman


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Buried Treasure

April 1, 1992 Operator Willie Brevant discovers an ichthyosaur (Platypterygius). Meaning “fish lizard”, ichthyosaurs first appeared in the Triassic.

A replica fossil is currently on display at the Oil Sands Discovery Centre in Fort McMurray.

April 1994 Operator Greg Fisher discovers a well preserved new genus of short-necked plesiosaur, a carnivorous marine reptile that lived in the Boreal sea. It is the oldest and one of the most complete Cretaceous plesio-saurs found in North America. It is named Nichollssaura borealis for Dr. Elizabeth Nicholls, then- curator of marine reptiles at the Royal Tyrrell. The specimen is 2.5 metres long, and its slender interlocking

teeth, along with fossil fish found in its stomach, prove that its diet consisted of fish, ammonites and other invertebrates.

A timeline of significant fossil discoveries at Syncrude

More than 100 million years ago, ancient rivers fed the Western Interior Seaway, covering dead marine animals with silt.


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HEN THE MASSIVE, 100-TONNE scoop of his shovel dug into the dirt and clay overburden above the oil sands in 1996, Syncrude operator Robert Serfas spotted something unusual: what looked like a long spine

curved along the grey rock. It was September 10, and Serfas had accidentally unearthed the remains of a plesiosaur elasmosaur, a marine animal that died 110 million years ago in the great inland sea that covered half of North America. His discovery was just the first of five large fossil finds he made during his career as an operator at Syncrude.

“I thought it was exciting to find something that old,” Serfas says. “And your name stays with the fossil.” Serfas is listed as the discoverer for each of the five fossils he found, which is an honour many paleontologists never achieve in their careers.

During the past two decades, oil sands operators have uncovered the fossil remains of marine reptiles and animals that date back to the Early Cretaceous period. The term “fossil fuel” aptly applies to the bitumen being extracted from the oil sands, given that the formation is comprised of decomposed plant life, marine animals and dinosaurs. No land-based dinosaurs have been found at the Syncrude mine, but crew members have unearthed many marine fossils, including small trace fossils of invertebrate bivalves, ammonites and clams. The larger, more significant finds have been of two vertebrate marine animals: the plesiosaur and the ichthyosaur.

“These fossils give us a glimpse into the diversity of these animals on the same horizon, and it has given us the ability to look at them in a whole new way,” says John-Paul Zonneveld, professor of geology, and a paleoecologist at the University of Alberta. “It is rare to find large concentrations of marine animals in one spot.” To date, the remains of 11 ancient animals have been discovered at Syn-crude’s operations, and thanks to diligent operators

June 22, 1995 Operator Owen Staudinger discovers a plesiosaur.

September 10, 1996 Operator Robert Serfas discovers a long-necked plesiosaur.

February 9, 1998 Operator Robert Serfas discovers another long-necked plesiosaur. Preparator Jason Kickens uncovers a well- preserved shoulder girdle from the large specimen and its massive forelimbs.

October 1, 1999 Operator Robert Serfas discovers a well-preserved long-necked plesiosaur.

W

FOSSIL FUEL: Artist’s rendering of a long-necked plesiosaur like the ones discovered by equipment operators at Syncrude.

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HEAD CASE: A fossilized plesiosaur skull preserved at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller.

like Serfas, Willie Brevant and Maggy Horvath, those discoveries have helped paleontologists better understand what ancient life in Alberta was like.

MORE THAN 100 MILLION YEARS AGO, ANCIENT rivers fed the Western Interior Seaway, flowing into the seabed and covering dead marine animals with enough silt to preserve them for millions of years. Now operators at Syncrude’s Mildred Lake and Aurora mines are clearing away parts of that seabed, known as the Clearwater Formation, to reach and extract bitumen, all the while keeping an eye out for fossils.

“In fossils from the Clearwater Formation, the bone is not actually solidified,” says Dr. Don Henderson, a curator at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology. “The bodies are encased in rock,

and as the body decays, the bone minerals dissolve away. New rock forms with sea water and the seabed growing around the carcass, and the super strong coffin allows the specimen to survive being struck by a heavy shovel.”

In fact, many of the fossils discovered at the Syncrude mine have been unearthed in remark-able condition. After the first fossil discovery at Syncrude in 1992, when an ichthyosaur was found by operator Willie Brevant, Syncrude developed a fossil-find protocol. “In the event one of our shovel operators discovers what they believe is a fossil, we cordon off the area until one of our folks can come out and take a better look,” says Lorne Shearing, manager, Mildred Lake mining. “If it does look like it is a fossil, we contact the Tyrrell and they bring some folks up here to investigate further.”

January 8, 2000 Operator Robert Serfas discovers a long-necked plesiosaur.

January 17, 2000 Operator Gary Middlebrook discovers a plesiosaur.

May 11, 2000 Operator Robert Serfas dis-covers a complete ichthyosaur (Athabascasaurus bitumeneus), which is now on display at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology.

November 14, 2011 Operator Maggy Horvath discovers a nearly complete long-necked plesiosaur.

May 11, 2012 Operator Jason Young discovers a plesiosaur (elasmosaur).

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Syncrude trains its shovel operators to know what to look for, and to immediately stop digging when they encounter a fossil. A Syncrude geologist is notified and the area is cordoned off and all equipment is moved outside a 20-metre radius of the find. The geologist contacts paleontologists at the Royal Tyrrell, sending GPS information and digital photos to assess the fossil. Once the paleon-tologists arrive at the mine, they can determine the fossil’s position and angle, and provide instructions to the shovel operator on how the piece of rock needs to be lifted out. Most fossil finds take five to seven days to extract carefully for transport. They are placed on a large flatbed truck, still encased in several tonnes of rock, and taken to Drumheller. Syncrude provides the resources to safely extract the fossil.

Even sitting eight or nine metres above the ground and running an enormous shovel, Serfas could distinguish the fossils from the surrounding dirt and material.

“I found it was easy to see because the material I was digging was grey, and the bones were a choco-late brown that stood out,” he says, describing the first plesiosaur he found in 1996. “It was exciting, and I wanted to preserve what I found, even though

I didn’t know exactly what it was. Then I found out the fossil was 110 million years old.”

Serfas found four plesiosaurs and one rare ichthyosaur during his 18 years at Syncrude. The company, in turn, showed its appreciation for Serfas’s hard work. “What makes these discoveries even more impressive is the fact that you were able to recognize the small bones for what they were while mining with such large equipment,” Syncrude wrote to Serfas in a 1999 letter. “Your efforts in saving these rare and valuable artifacts are evidence of your commitment to excellence.”

Serfas wasn’t the first Syncrude employee to unearth a dinosaur in a mine, and he certainly wasn’t the last. On a cold day in November 2011, operator Maggy Horvath spotted what turned out to be a nearly complete long-necked plesiosaur.

“It felt pretty good to call my son and let him know I found a prehistoric fossil while working in the mine,” she said in a 2011 interview. “As operators, we always keep our eyes out for a find like this.” A team of paleontologists from the Royal Tyrrell was able to excavate that fossil.

“Over the years, we have had an excellent relationship with the Royal Tyrrell Museum, and here at Syncrude, we are helping them to preserve

– Robert Serfas,Syncrude operator

ROBERT SERFAS

MAGGY HORVATH

“It was exciting, and I wanted to preserve what I found, even though I didn’t know exactly what it was. Then I found out the fossil was 110 million years old.”


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“Congratulations Syncrude on 50 years!”

“In the event one of our shovel operators discovers what they believe is a fossil, we cordon off the area until one of our folks can come out and take a better look.”– Lorne Shearing,manager, Mildred Lake Mining


with the fact that the bones were oozing bitumen.”The fossil specimen arrived at the Tyrrell encased

in 10 tonnes of rock. Paleontologists chipped it out in the parking lot of the museum.

Then they surrounded it with a plaster and wood cradle to bring into the museum with a large forklift. The ichthyosaur is currently on display at the Royal Tyrrell, and bitumen continues to ooze slowly from this fossil’s tail.

“There are big gaps in the fossil record,” Druck-enmiller says. Thanks to the finds at Syncrude, paleontologists have learned about new marine reptile species, and more about how those animals were related to earlier forms. “The Syncrude fossils are helping to fill in gaps in time for these two animals, the plesiosaur and ichthyosaur, and we are getting a better picture of that window, around 110 million BC. We could have lost a lot of significant material had it not been for Syncrude.”

“This has been a spectacular contribution to this area of paleontology,” says Zonneveld. “We scientists appreciate the fact that Syncrude will shift its operations when one of these specimens is found.” As plans stretch into the future, paleontologists believe more significant fossil finds will occur at Syncrude, and the company is prepared to unearth them.

the fossils as we discover them,” says Shearing.“There are good people on the ground there,”

Henderson says. “The geologists and operators love these finds. They are amazed these things were hiding in the rocks, and they go out of their way to help us.”

In 2001, Syncrude funded the two-year Syncrude Marine Reptile Project at the University of Calgary, providing salaries for then-paleontology PhD student Patrick Druckenmiller and fossil preparator Jason Hickens, to assist the Royal Tyrrell Museum in preparing the Syncrude specimens for display.

“My job was to look at nine skeletons, which had been found in the previous 10 years at the Syncrude mine,” says Druckenmiller, who is now the curator of Earth Sciences at the Museum of the North, University of Alaska. “I described the skeletons, carefully wrote about the anatomical details, and researched whether these were the same species as those found elsewhere.”

Some of the Syncrude fossils were new species, which Druckenmiller got to name, including an ichthyosaur that Serfas found in 2000, which had large eyes and resembled a large dolphin: “It was a new ichthyosaur that I named the Athabascasaurus bitumeneus,” says Druckenmiller. “We had to deal

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DEEP SEA DISCOVERY: A dolphin-like ichthyosaursimilar to the one discovered by a Syncrude operator.


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WHERE THE BUFFALO ROAM: More than just a photo opportunity, the Wood Bison that graze on land reclaimed by Syncrude are part of a genetic preservation effort.

Oh,Give Them a


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an undeniable hierarchy in the wood bison world. Any herd of the threatened species, be it small or large, has a pecking order, with each and every one of the grand animals knowing its place and status. Step-

ping out of line can lead to aggression: a youthful bull might be overwhelmed by his more mature herd mates, or a high-ranking, aging male could be overthrown by his younger, more ambitious competitors. This is all part of how bison operate and maintain the power of the herd.

In his 20 years working at the Beaver Creek Wood Bison Ranch, located about 50 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, Ramstead has witnessed this sometimes harsh behaviour firsthand. But he’s also witnessed things that amaze him. Back in 2010, a female bison gave birth to a set of twins at the ranch and Ramstead was genuinely surprised. Bison twins are incredibly rare, and it’s even more unlikely for the mother to accept both of the calves.

BY David DiCenzo

The Beaver Creek bison herd has grown from 30 to 300 in two decades of Syncrude stewardship

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LOOKING OVER THE HERD: Fort McKay Group of Companies’ Brad Ramstead has watched the Beaver Creek bison herd grow, and thrive, over the years.


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of Syncrude’s mission to reclaim areas impacted by its operations – and the bison needed a healthy, safe place where their numbers could grow and the herd could thrive. But building Beaver Creek Wood Bison Ranch was also important for the Fort McKay First Nation. The bison is often a symbol of strength within First Nation communities, and the animal itself was historical lifeblood, providing food, shelter and tools for thousands of years.

When settlers from Europe came in search of land, bison populations were depleted in massive numbers. According to the Canadian Bison Association, there were approximately 60 million bison in North America in 1800, and that number is believed to have plummeted to just 1,000 a century later. Environment Canada estimates that there are about 8,000 remaining wood bison in the country.

“These bison are back in their ancestral land,” says Ramstead. Nursing the bison population back to health symbolizes an important part of rekin-dling First Nations culture in Canada. With the bison returned to their natural range on a healthy patch of land, the relationship between Syncrude and the Fort McKay First Nation has strengthened. The ranch offers employment opportunities for nearby residents, including the construction and maintenance of fences surrounding the bison’s spacious pasture.

Jack “Torchy” Peden, a cattle rancher and former mine maintenance manager for Syncrude, calls the

What usually happens is the mother will have that first calf, but still be in labour, says Ramstead, a 50-year-old native Albertan from Claresholm. “If that first calf can’t stay close, the mother might not even know she had that first one.” She then will imprint on the second calf born and not really pay attention to the first.

And yet, the opposite happened. “When we went to check on them, both calves were up and dry. She had cleaned them and was nursing them. It was good, because we had seen failure in situations like that before.” The twins, named Kisik (the Cree word for sky) and Tu (the Dene word for water), are a great memory for Ramstead, a senior reclamation scientist with the Fort McKay Group of Companies.

Ramstead began doing reclamation work for Syncrude in 1991. In 1993, he was part of the team that helped create what has become the award-win-ning Beaver Creek Wood Bison Ranch. For 20 years, Ramstead and his colleagues at the ranch have worked to reintroduce bison to reclaimed land. The ranch is a joint venture between Syncrude and the Fort McKay First Nation, who are working to manage the ranch and maintain the herd, which started with just 30 wood bison from Elk Island National Park. The goal is to use reclaimed land in a bid to replenish the population of a threatened animal.

RENEWING THE LAND’S ABILITY TO PROVIDE habitat for large animals was a critical component

The ranch is a joint venture between Syncrude and the Fort McKay First Nation, who are working to manage and maintain the herd.


When Billboard Direct reflects on the achievements Syncrude Canadahas accomplished over the last 50 years,

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“These bison are back on their ancestral land.”

When Billboard Direct reflects on the achievements Syncrude Canadahas accomplished over the last 50 years,

it is definitely a milestone worth celebrating!

Billboard Direct wishes Syncrude continued success and prosperity.

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– Brad Ramstead,Syncrude, reclamations

venture “one of the best things Syncrude ever did.” When a celebration was held for the ranch’s 20th anniversary in 2013, Peden said, “We were excited about everything, anything to help conservation. You’re raising bison on reclaimed land in their natural historic range.”

In the early days of the ranch, 15 bulls and 15 cows (six of them mature) roamed 25 hectares of land, with the first calf born in the spring of 1993. The pasture continued to develop, growing to its current size of about 450 hectares, and the herd has since swelled to 300 healthy head. That number is close to capacity, considering the size of the grazing area.

Ramstead remembers the buzz that first began around the herd. Once the land was available and the herd had begun to increase in size, Ramstead says it was amazing to see bison grazing on reclaimed areas. It became apparent that that the work and the program was a major part of the Syncrude success story. And being located in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, he says, the symbol and the logo of the wood bison became meaningful.

“With my background in biology, working with this herd and understanding their dynamics has been inspirational,” says Ramstead. “And doing this at the oil sands was a heck of a lot different for me than what everyone else up here was doing. It’s been a challenge, and we have worked hard to showcase what we have accomplished. It’s been made possible by working with the staff I have had over the years at Syncrude and at Fort McKay, while also meeting with and learning from so many other bison producers.”

THE WORK AT BEAVER CREEK VARIES FROM DAY to day and season to season. New animals are brought in and tagged every fall, the fences require constant checking and calves need to be monitored. Two full-time employees in the field, Shane Baptiste and Chris Erdbecker, help Ramstead with daily duties.

Keeping a commercial herd healthy is a difficult task for any rancher, but the Beaver Creek operation runs up against misconceptions about the health of the bison given their proximity to an oil sands operation. “We test these animals and prove that they are healthy and disease-free,” Ramstead says.

The herd has been closely studied by outside re-searchers who are fascinated with it. Dr. Roy Lewis is one of them. A practising veterinarian since 1981, Dr. Lewis joined the board of the Bison Producers of Alberta back in 2009 and runs his own small herd of 30 bison in Westlock. He has been treating the Beaver Creek herd for 17 years, and is impressed. “I go up there for the big roundup in the fall,” Dr. Lewis says. “We identify the bison, check them over and administer shots and dewormer. They are a healthy bison that breed very well.”

Representatives of the University of Calgary and the Calgary Zoo also have a history of working with the herd. Doug Whiteside of the Calgary Zoo Animal Health Centre has worked on a research project that aims to develop test tube embryos, in the hope of breeding disease-free bison.

The Beaver Creek herd is also an important part of the genetic preservation effort of the wood bison species. “We have done semen tests on bulls to show the seasonal fluctuations and the viability of their


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The Beaver Creek herd is also an important part of the genetic preservation of the wood bison species.

sperm at certain times of year,” Ramstead says. The semen collected from pure wood bison bulls has been cryogenically frozen. Ramstead says that these “straws” could be frozen for 25 years and later used for in-vitro fertilization of a female if required. Beyond that, species recovery efforts have been bolstered through the sale of more than 1,400 head from the Syncrude herd as breeding stock across Canada.

“Wood bison are on the threatened species list and in the event of a massive die-off in the park system, we would still have genetic material from bulls sitting in what was at one time referred to as the endangered species bank,” he says.

Research conducted on the Beaver Creek herd is all linked through the goal of helping the bison re-main healthy and continue to reproduce. Ramstead says that the team genetically matches each calf to its mother and sire every season. It collects a blood sample from each calf tagged in the fall and sends it

to a lab that keeps track of the DNA of every animal on the ranch. It’s valuable information.

“When we range breed or have a possibility of multi-sires, we can see what bull is dominating the gene pool,” Ramstead says. “It’s not always the ones that you think, and some bulls are extremely competitive during the breeding season. We have had upwards of 35 calves sired by one bull while competing for the breeding rights of 70 to 90 cows, with eight to 10 other bulls. “We have discovered some neat stuff doing this,” he says. “We have the ability to limit the amount certain bulls breed and we can see what bulls, with certain cows, turn out the best calves.”

OVER 20 YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE original herd of 30 was transplanted from Elk Island National Park to the reclaimed land north of Fort McMurray. It took a while for the

FAST FACT: Oil producers recycle 80 to 95 per cent of the water that they use. Source: AESRD


herd to adapt to the new territory but, since then, it has grown in numbers and thrived.

Though Ramstead is quick to point out that he runs a ranch and not a zoo, he has developed a bond with the animals, which is why the story of the twins is one that resonates most with him. He cares about his stock and will do anything to protect them. “It gets to become more of a lifestyle and love than just a job,” he says. “It’s rewarding going to work each day, with a chance to learn something new about such a majestic animal that has been such an important part of our history.”

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Creating career opportunities for Indigenous youthSyncrude’s support inspires thousands of students to dream big and pursue fulfilling careers. Thank you and congratulations on 50 years!

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LARRY MOSENG

DEANNA MOSENG IS THE kind of person who wears ear-plugs when she mows the lawn at home. At work, Syncrude’s safety, health and environment area leader can wax on for 10 minutes in presentations about the proper way to fit them in an ear.

When it comes to safety, Deanna has a passion for and commitment to her work. Part of the commitment, and discipline,

comes from her eight years of experience in the military. “Safety in the military is obviously a huge thing, so it’s something that I brought to all the jobs that I’ve done,” she says.

When she was just 19, Deanna sailed on the HMCS Protector through the Persian Gulf. She worked in emergency response on board, responding to fires, floods and rescue operations. And while she spent a few more years on boats along Canada’s east and west coasts, she eventually moved inland, taking a job in early 2001 working in Fort McMurray at Syncrude Canada Ltd., where her safety training set

Safety CultureMultiple generations of the Moseng family apply their military training to instill a mindset of safer behaviour BY Lyndsie Bourgon • PHOTOGRAPHY BY John Gaucher

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“We’re developing a behaviour-based side to safety with our personnel, lowering their risk tolerance.”

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the stage for what has become a rewarding career. She started with the company in operations and slowly began taking on safety positions during maintenance turnarounds a few times per year, until she eventually transitioned into her current position.

Much of the passion Deanna has for her work is personal. She is just one member of her family working at Syncrude, which makes safety in the workplace more than just her job – it follows her home at the end of the day. Her husband, Travis, also works at Syncrude, as does her sister-in-law. Her father-in-law, Larry, spent much of his career with Syncrude after leaving the mili-tary himself, and has returned to do field safety training now that he’s in retirement. The Moseng family brings a multi-generational approach, with military-style discipline, to maintaining a culture at Syncrude that focuses on safety.

Both Deanna and Larry say they have enjoyed the freedom to forge several different careers all under the Syncrude umbrella. “It’s kind of like the military, with lots of training,” Deanna says. She has also continued her education with additional training, supported by Syncrude, outside of work hours. “It’s nice to expand your horizons and stay with one company. I moved forward in a career that I truly wanted without needing to look somewhere else to find it.”

Deana often uses her husband, Travis, as a case study in her training exercises because he spends a lot of time outdoors in his work and participating in high-risk activities after work, like dirt-biking and jet skiing. He’s very safety-conscious, Deanna says, and wears all the proper gear. When he goes out on his bike, he makes sure his iPhone finder is on, in case he gets lost or injured. “We have some pretty interesting conversa-tions at home,” Deanna says.

If she accomplishes anything, Deanna hopes it’s working towards developing good safety behaviour, instead of simply helping her co-workers react to incidents. “We’re developing a

behaviour-based side to safety with our personnel, lowering their risk tolerance. This is stuff that applies to life.”

The Mosengs are far from the only Fort McMurray residents to have multiple family members working at Syncrude. Larry, Deanna’s father-in-law, freely admits that his wife is often worried about the fact that her children and husband work in a risk-filled environment. “Because my family’s in the business, I do care,” he says. “When my son was in the field, and there was an incident, I was keeping my ear to the phone and making sure he was OK.”

“It’s the culmination of a career, to pass that safety knowledge

on,” Larry says. “Hopefully I can influence people. You can learn about equipment and technology, but it doesn’t keep you safe. I’m passionate about incident prevention.” Larry uses teaching methods that prize real-life scenarios. “It’s all about knowing when things are going right, when they’re going wrong and how to prevent mistakes.”

Even Deanna admits that her knowledge about safety makes her nervous at times. “It’s very personal,” she says. “I’m here to make sure you go home at the end of the day. That’s all I want for people.” Her goal is to make sure that Syncrude’s employees don’t leave their safety training at the gate when they clock out.

– Deanna Moseng,Syncrude safety, health and environment leader


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SYNCRUDE TACKLED A SEVERE recession in the early 1980s by focusing on growth through capacity addition. New projects provided work to employees at a time when other companies were scaling back. The company placed a new focus on increasing produc-tion by seeking new and creative ways to get more oil sand to the extraction plant.

1982: Just four years after producing its first barrel of oil, Syncrude sends its 100 millionth barrel down the pipeline in July 1982

1983: Syncrude announces the $1.2 billion Capacity Addition Project (CAP) to increase its production from 109,000 to 150,000 bpd

1985: Syncrude produces its 200 millionth barrel of oil

1988: The Capacity Addition Project is completed on time and under budget

The 1980s

MILESTONES


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NEIGHBOURS

LEE BARBOUR


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Water is the foundation of any reclaimed site’s success, and Barbour’s work will create tools that track the evolution of these land-scapes.

RIGHT NOW, GROUNDWATER on reclaimed landscapes around oil sands operations flows back into end pit lakes or manufactured wetlands, while scientists aim to learn more about its impacts.

To that end, Dr. Lee Barbour is on a mission; studying how water flows through reclaimed landscapes, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada and Syncrude Canada Ltd. industrial research chair wants to develop tools that would help Syncrude design and implement more environmentally responsible reclaimed landscapes.

Part of the challenge lies in the fact that the oil sands region was once an ancient inland sea; while the seawater is long gone, its salt has remained. The soil releases this salt when the earthen cover overlying oil sands deposits (overburden) is disturbed. There is a risk that any freshwater entering these deposits, such as rain or snow melt, could carry the salt out to the surrounding systems. The release of these salts could disrupt natural ecosystems and have a damaging impact on the surrounding environment – exactly the opposite of what reclamation efforts intend to do. The challenge for industry is to design closure landscapes that release large volumes of freshwater. The ability to track and ultimately predict water movement and con-taminant levels throughout these landforms would provide a stronger foundation for the design and building of these final landscapes.

In 2012, Barbour, a professor of civil and geological engineering at the University of Saskatchewan, received $2.6 million from NSERC

and Syncrude for a project to identify tools that measure the path and rate that water flows through these reconstructed landforms. Water is the foundation of any re-claimed site’s success, and Barbour’s work will create tools that track the evolution of these landscapes over time, ideally helping the industry mitigate the impact of this groundwater from carrying salts into wetlands, streams or rivers.

Barbour has worked with Syncrude since 1998, studying water balances, reclamation covers and how water affects plant life on reclaimed spaces. But this new research takes an extended view, monitoring what happens on a reclaimed space after the initial reclamation of the landscape has been completed.

“Once you’ve accomplished that first phase, what chemical loadings might you expect from these landforms in the long term?” says Barbour. “It’ll give us the ability to understand more about the time scales for the evolution of these landscapes.”

Barbour’s early research with Syncrude focused on how reclamation covers could be used to optimize the water available for re-vegetation on reclaimed land. That research led to an interest in where the water not used by plants ended up. “So often research is in-cremental,” Barbour says. “We build on other people’s work, and even some of our own former work, and we try to advance it another step, and find a way to apply it to a new problem. We’re always standing on the shoulders of somebody.”

Barbour’s research is tied to projects that recreate environ-

ments like wetlands – something that Syncrude recently initiated with its reclaimed Fen Watershed. “These recreated wetlands will receive water from adjacent closure landforms, and consequently the volume, source and chemistry of these waters is foundational to understanding the long-term performance and viability of these wetlands,” says Barbour.

“In order to estimate the magnitude of these chemicals to the receiving environment, it is critical to be able to quantify the rate and pathway of water movement through the closure landscapes,” Barbour explains. If the researchers could find a way to estimate the amount of chemical load that comes out of reconstruct-ed uplands and ends up in adjacent wetlands, streams or ponds, companies like Syncrude could use the information to design and position landforms to minimize impact on the wetlands that are the recipients of this water.

While Barbour’s research is particularly concerned with oil sands mining, the tools he and his team are developing with assis-tance from Syncrude could be used for a wider variety of purposes.

Whether creating a well supply for a small town or a farm, study-ing the effects of climate change or siting an industrial facility over a groundwater source, knowing how much water is moving through the system is imperative. Barbour is about 18 months into the five-year research window, and some of the students who were initially work-ing with him are already wrapping up their programs and moving into the publication stage.

Reclamation RockstarSyncrude funding helps a University of Saskatchewan researcher better understand watersheds BY Ashleigh Mattern • PHOTOGRAPHY BY John Gaucher


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THE 1990S SAW SYNCRUDE change the way it mined oil sand, and developed a new technology to remotely mine and extract bitumen from ore. The National Oil Sands Task Force, headed by Syncrude CEO Eric Newell, led to new royalty and tax terms for the industry, leading to rapid expansion.

1992: Syncrude plants its one millionth tree on reclaimed land

1993: The company partners with the Fort McKay First Nation to introduce 30 wood bison from Elk Island National Park to new habitat located on a section of reclaimed oil sands land, a project that has turned into the Beaver Creek Wood Bison Ranch

1994: Syncrude publishes its first Aboriginal Review, a new way of communicating with the First Nations communities in the Wood Buffalo region. The annual report, now called Pathways, remains the only such publication of its kind in Canada

1994: The new Syncrude Research Centre opens in the Edmonton Research Park 1995: The Wood Bison Trail and Matcheetawin Discovery Trail open on reclaimed Syncrude land, complete with a pair of enormous Wood Bison sculptures

1996: A Canadian patent is granted to Syncrude for hydro-transport, a technology that allows conditioned mined oil sand to be shipped by pipeline to Mildred Lake for processing and opens up the ability for remote mines

1996: CEO Eric Newell signs the Declaration of Opportunity with other industry developers as

The 1990s

MILESTONES

well as the federal and provincial governments, helping to usher in an era of increased investment and development for the oil sands 1998: The company ships its one billionth barrel of oil, the first oil sands producer to do so

1999: Syncrude retires its first dragline and bucketwheel

1999: The new 360-ton Caterpillar 797 truck along with the P&H 4100 electric shovel are introduced to the industry at Syncrude’s North mine


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Guest workers from across the country are a key component of

Syncrude’s ongoing successBY David DiCenzo

Home

HOMEAway From

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ONE ENORMOUS FAMILY: Syncrude has enabled the careers of countless thousands of guest workers.


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Blakely says that visionary thinking has been part of the company’s history. Syncrude focused on the longer term.

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FAST FACT: Canada has about 179 billion barrels of established crude oil reserves, more than any other country in the world except Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Source: Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada.

VERY ONCE IN A WHILE, HUGH and Perry Matthews enjoy a little taste of the Maritimes. The two Cape Breton, Nova Scotia-born brothers spend most of their days in northern Alberta working as carpenters for Aluma Systems, a company contract-

ed by Syncrude to do scaffolding work. For weeks at a time, life revolves solely around work and the camp, with the odd trip into town to pick up some neces-sities and stretch their legs. On occasion, they are treated to an East Coast dinner. It might not be the same as Maritime lobster or shrimp freshly plucked from the Atlantic, but a seafood feast at the camp is a nice reminder of family life back in Nova Scotia, where they return a few times a year.

For the brothers, commuting across the country to ply their trade is a family tradition. “Back in about 2001, we had a brother living out in Fort McMurray,” says Hugh, 58. “Perry and I were finishing up different jobs and talking about coming out here.”

In the end, they decided they would make the

cross-country trip and have been with Aluma ever since.The company does daily scaffolding work on site at

Syncrude, while also contributing during shutdowns and special projects like the Upgrader Expansion project (UE-1). The Matthews brothers’ story is a familiar one in the oil sands. Thousands of kilome-tres separate the Maritimers from home, but Perry, 51, says two things help soften the blow of being away from family in Cape Breton: the camaraderie and the opportunity.

Aluma Systems is just one of the many Building Trades of Alberta contractors that play an integral role in maintaining the Syncrude facility and contrib-uting to its growth projects. On a daily basis, regular maintenance employs a base workforce of approxi-mately 750 to 1,000 workers. That number increases to between 2,700 and 3,000 daily during major plant maintenance turnaround events. For 2014, an estimated 3,000 contract workers, from Alberta and across the country, will be employed on maintenance and sustaining capital projects. About 85 per cent of contract work on the Syncrude site is completed

EFIRST CHOICE EMPLOYER: Building Trades of Alberta executive director Warren Fraleigh says that Syncrude has a leading reputation in the way it treats guest workers.


by Building Trades contractors – over the years some 280 million workforce hours have been logged. Syncrude’s recipe for success has drawn workers to the oil sands for decades, many of whom want to be part of something big.

Robert Blakely, now 63, was one of them when the original plant was built. “I remember the excitement back in 1972,” says Blakely, who began his career as a pipefitter and later became a union rep and then president of Building Trades of Alberta before landing in his current position as director of Canadian affairs for the Building & Construction Trades Department. “There was going to be this multibillion- dollar project, which required an enormous effort to get everyone onside,” he says. “Once people got there and started working, this was a job of magnitude. It was beyond people’s wildest dreams, grandeur in terms of what it was and what we were going to build.”

Ever since the construction of the original plant, Syncrude has been the largest single customer of Building Trades of Alberta unions. The company’s long-standing relationship with these unions gives guest workers a true sense that they are part of the team and, as a result, they take great pride in their work for the company. “When we built [the original plant] and it was turned on, and it worked, people understood that this was launching a new era in Alberta,” Blakely says.

Despite the ambitious intro-duction, the early 1980s brought economic hardship to Alberta. Blakely says Syncrude stepped up at a time when many were desperate for work. The company announced the Capacity Addition Project in 1983, a $1.2-billion investment aimed at increasing production from 109,000 to 150,000 barrels a day. “It stabilized wages and put people to work. Syncrude showed a lot of leader-ship,” Blakely says.

Blakely says that visionary thinking has been a critical part of the company over its history. Syncrude focused on the longer term and realized that it could not rely forever on the baby boom generation. So the question

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became, “What do we need to do for tomorrow?” Blakely believes the approach has been enormously beneficial for Alberta, especially through community investment in things like the arts and children’s sports. But the workforce impact has been equally significant.

“When we started, it was a few Albertans,” Blakely says. “Then it became this idea that if you build it, they will come.” Treating union workers well, and providing them with a safe, comfortable experi-ence during their time with the company has become a point of pride. And Blakely was right – they have indeed come.

Warren Fraleigh, executive director of the Building Trades of Alberta, estimates that a robust 80 per cent of the working hours put in by his members are in the oil sands. “Every construction or maintenance project has compe-tition for resources and labour,” says Fraleigh. “Due to the history and reputation that has come with years of exposure to the union craft personnel, Syncrude has come to be recognized as a leader in the way it treats trades people, by offering a safe jobsite with good working conditions and accommodations.

“I witnessed the Syncrude turnaround leadership’s com-mitment to safety on the 2013 Project Timberwolf, where the turnaround manager person-ally conducted the group safety orientation and met each and every tradesperson who would be working on the turnaround.” He made it clear that if something was not safe, workers needed to stop and report it, and he would ensure there were no negative consequences. “This type of effort is appreciated and keeps people coming back to Syncrude.”

Hugh Matthews is one of the thousands of workers happy to do just that. He says the staff at camp is great and that all their needs are met, be it food, bedding or laundry. Hanging out with some buddies from Down East, along with the colleagues he has met from all over Canada, certainly helps. “Everybody is away from their family and we’re under pressure that way,” says Perry. “It just makes things a little easier.”

Congratulations Syncrude Canada Ltd. on your 50th anniversary!

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“The experience and the interest in the job was so good that I hung around.”

BY Alex Migdal • PHOTOGRAPHY BY Curtis Trent

LANDING A JOB AT SYNCRUDE Canada Ltd. was the best accident Stewart Johnson could have asked for.

In 1981, Johnson was wrapping up a two-year diploma in plastics engineering technology at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT). Syncrude was recruiting chemical technol-ogists to perform analysis work, and even though the position fell outside Johnson’s field, he wanted to gain more experience with job interviews, so he applied.

That interview landed Johnson a career at Syncrude that has gone on to span more than 30 years. “The experience and my interest in the job were so good that I hung around,” he says with a laugh.

Johnson has done more than just hang around. Now a senior research specialist, he’s played an integral role in a number of Syncrude’s research projects, including research on truck tires, synthetic lubricants, lined slurry piping and large diameter slurry hoses and, more recently, a bid to increase the reliability of conveyer belt technology in oil sands operations.

Conveyer belts are used to move broken-up oil sand from a crusher unit to an extraction plant. Recently, the Syncrude operation experienced unexpect-ed wear on the system’s pulley covers (the backside where the conveyer belt rides on rollers), but Johnson and his team have found ways to improve wear resistance and increase lifespan. They will be field testing a dual compound conveyer belt this

year, which features an oil sand processing compound on the top and a wear-resistant one underneath. The trick was to improve one while avoiding damage to the other.

“It’s a give and take,” Johnson says. “You can improve the abrasion resistance, but you give up a little bit of oil resistance. By doing that, the pulley side doesn’t need as much oil resistance. There’s no magic compound that’s out there for everything.”

Through lab testing, Johnson and his team are analyzing compounds from various manufacturers to pinpoint their low-temperature and abrasion resistance. The team’s goal is to identify compounds that can double the abrasion resistance, but only give up five to 10 per cent of the oil resistance. “By doing

this, we’re expecting an increase in the longevity of our conveyer belts as we’re not wearing out the pulley cover and exposing the steel cables like we did with our old compounds.”

Johnson’s job satisfaction comes from seeing his research applied in the field. Despite the demands, adapting to change is what’s kept Johnson going for 30-plus years.

“What’s interesting is how much technology in the industry has advanced. People may not see it. People see a conveyer belt rather than the nuances.”

In 30 years with the company, Johnson has seen many tech-nological changes, and imple-mented new technologies that have helped not only Syncrude, but have also helped change the wider oil sands business.

Reinventing the WheelsTechnological development at Syncrude keeps the company’s research specialists keen

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FAST FACT: Canada has the third largest oil reserves in the world. Ninety-seven per cent of those reserves are in the oil sands.Source: CAPP

– Stewart Johnson, company innovator

NEIGHBOURS

STEWART JOHNSON


How have we pushed the limits of what innovation and technology can accomplish with Syncrude?

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We look forward to working together and continuing to fi nd new breakthroughs.

Through an alliance of industry-leading minds, of course.

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Better Than ParThe Syncrude Boreal Open will play through Fort McMurray until at least 2016

IN 2011, FOR THE FIRST time, 156 of the top PGA Tour prospects descended on the Fort McMurray Golf Club. That year Syncrude Canada Ltd. brought the PGA Tour Canada to the city. The company has since extended its title sponsorship of the Syncrude Boreal Open through 2016, meaning that Wood Buffalo residents will have a chance to see the likes of Cory Renfrew (winner of the 2012 tournament) for another three years.

“We’re ecstatic that Syncrude will continue to support this event through 2016,” says Jeff Monday, president of the PGA

Tour Canada. “The whole city really seems to get behind this tournament, and there really is a great atmosphere around the event. We look forward to many great tournaments in Fort McMurray to come.”

The Fort McMurray Golf Club is one of just 12 stops the PGA Tour Canada will make in the 2014 season and like the 11 other events, the golfers will be competing for a purse of $150,000. PGA Tour standouts like Stephen Ames, Mike Weir, Arron Oberholser, Chris DiMarco and John Malinger have all played on the PGA Tour Canada in recent years.


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IN THE COMMUNITY


Job well done, Syncrude.Now get some rest, we’ve got a big day tomorrow.

Noralta Lodge is looking forward to making the next 50 years more comfortable and productive for the hardworking

people that drive our economy.

Join us at one of our numerous lodges, strategically located near Northern Alberta’s oil sands.

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“We know these engin-eers give back, whether it’s for a corporate challenge or organizations like the United Way. It’s great to have companies like this choose Edmonton.”- Edmonton’s Mayor Don Iveson

FAST FACT: Oil production is forecast to reach at least 4 million barrels per day by 2020.Source: Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada.

Job well done, Syncrude.Now get some rest, we’ve got a big day tomorrow.

Noralta Lodge is looking forward to making the next 50 years more comfortable and productive for the hardworking

people that drive our economy.

Join us at one of our numerous lodges, strategically located near Northern Alberta’s oil sands.

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000SYN-NoraltaLodge-FP.indd 1 2014-04-22 9:02 AM

Strategic AlliancesSyncrude’s long-term partnership with Edmonton companies makes it an important contributor to the city’s economyBY Caleb Caswell • PHOTOGRAPHY BY Curtis Trent

LLOYD GOODINE HAS worked for Syncrude Canada Ltd., in one way or another, for more than 20 years. His current role with Syncrude as manager of the CoSyn Alliance may be his most rewarding.

CoSyn Technology is the product of a long-term agreement between Syncrude and Colt Engineering, now WorleyParsons, that provides engineering and project delivery services associat-ed with Syncrude’s operating and capital project needs. It keeps 550 people, including 300 engineers, employed in Edmonton, making it an important part of the city’s economy. Edmonton mayor Don Iveson is happy to have a team like CoSyn working in the city.

“The folks working with the CoSyn Alliance are really important to our ongoing competitiveness,” Iveson says. “We know these engineers give back, whether it’s for a corporate challenge or organizations like the United Way. It’s great to have companies like this choose Edmonton.”

For his part, Goodine says Edmonton is an ideal location for teams like CoSyn Technolo-gy: the city’s relative proximity to Fort McMurray and low cost of living combined with its access to a knowledgeable and skilled workforce are some of the city’s advantages. Syncrude is an important contributor to Edmonton’s economy even beyond CoSyn. In 2011, Syncrude did $1.7 billion worth of business with Edmonton and area companies.

Syncrude’s success is due in part to the contributions of teams like CoSyn that help deliver engineered solutions, which support operations while improving on the value of services to Syncrude.

“Performance management is really where our efforts lie,” says Goodine. “We optimize the business, lean out processes and innovate like crazy to improve the projects delivered to Syncrude.” Like Goodine, CoSyn recently celebrated its own 20-year anniversary of serving Syncrude’s operational needs.

CoSyn leverages many of WorleyParsons’ global resources for project support.

Goodine is proud of what CoSyn and Syncrude have accomplished. “And really, who wouldn’t be?” he says. “I’m fortunate to have the opportunity to steer a significant business that contributes value to my organization, and impacts the 550 employees who work for us. And of course there’s the giving back to the community in so many ways; that makes you feel good to know that you are helping to make a difference. Having a small part to play in that is fantastic.”

NEIGHBOURS

LLOYD GOODINE,CoSyn Technologies.


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WITH THE OPENING OF the Aurora North mine, 35 kilometres northeast of Mildred Lake, Syncrude’s production increases rapidly. Emphasis is placed on innovative projects in extraction as well as environ-mental reclamation.

2000: Syncrude begins work with Caterpillar to develop and test the first 400-tonne trucks – Caterpillar’s 797B – in the oil sands

2001: The Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business accredits Syncrude with Gold Level certi-fication for its commitment to working with Aboriginal people, a designation that it continues to hold today 2006: The company completes the UE-1 (Upgrader Expansion) project, adding a third coker to the operation to increase produc-tion capacity to 350,000 bpd 2008: The Alberta government issues Syncrude the first reclama-tion certification in the Canadian oil sands, for the Gateway Hill area 2008: Syncrude hits a production milestone of two billion barrels

The 2000s

MILESTONES

200Local 424 IBEW

Edmonton, Calgary and Fort McMurray780-462-5076

[email protected]

Syncrude Mildred Lake Site Aug. 1974Photo credit: Provincial Archives of Alberta J.312/2

Local 424 IBEW Congratulates Syncrude Canada on 50 years of innovation, leadership and growth. Our members are proud to have worked on Syncrude’s construction and maintenance projects since the beginning. We look forward to your continued success and valued partnership.

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200Local 424 IBEW

Edmonton, Calgary and Fort McMurray780-462-5076

[email protected]

Syncrude Mildred Lake Site Aug. 1974Photo credit: Provincial Archives of Alberta J.312/2

Local 424 IBEW Congratulates Syncrude Canada on 50 years of innovation, leadership and growth. Our members are proud to have worked on Syncrude’s construction and maintenance projects since the beginning. We look forward to your continued success and valued partnership.

000SYN-Local424IBEW-FP.indd 1 2014-04-10 8:33 AMCornerstone_2014_p100-101.indd 101 2014-05-22 1:35 PM

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HISTORICAL INVESTMENT: Syncrude’s investments in its upgrader have enabled the company to produce value-added crude oil.


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Syncrude’s historical investment in upgrading brings benefit to Canada and shows off amazing technical innovation. Here is a day in pictures

QualityMeetsQuantity


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Experience the Progress.LTR telescopic crawler cranes from Liebherr. Excellent off-road capacity and manoeuvrability „Pick-and-carry“, driving with full load Short setup times Crane operations up to 4° lateral angle even with reduced track width Rapid relocation on site

Liebherr-Canada Ltd.1015 Sutton Drive, BurlingtonOntario L7L 5Z8Phone: (905) 319-9222E-mail: [email protected]/LiebherrConstructionwww.liebherr.ca The Group

2008-501_043 LWE_037 LTR 1220_Canada_GB_ahMP.indd 1 03.03.14 12:46000SYN-Liebherr-FP.indd 1 2014-03-18 8:40 AM

CAPACITY: Syncrude Canada Ltd. has a production capacity of approximately 350,000 barrels of oil per day – all of which is a high quality, low-sulphur light, sweet crude oil.

TRADING TIME: Syncrude’s blended product trades at prices comparable to West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and at times commands a premium over indices like Edmonton Par and Western Canadian Select.

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JUST AN UPGRADER? In the mind of the general public, there’s little distinction between a refinery and an upgrader. But there is. Refineries make products like motor oil, gasoline and diesel that can be put to use in cars and trucks. Upgraders take ultra-heavy oil and turn it into light oil before a refinery turns it into a product of everyday use. Syncrude’s upgrading facilities also produce diesel fuel, which the company uses for its heavy-haul trucks in its oil sands mine.

SWEET SUCCESS: The company’s upgrader boasts the world’s largest vacuum distillation unit and largest fluid cokers, allowing Syncrude to separate large quantities of light-gas oil, heavy-gas oil and naphtha from the bitumen it extracts from oil sand. Syncrude also has the world’s largest hydrogen plant. It enables sweetening of the product by removing sulphur, thereby allowing the company to squeeze the most value out of its product possible.

TECHNICAL EDGE: Syncrude’s upgrader is a sprawling complex of pipes, furnaces, conveyor belts and separation facilities all operated from a computerized control centre. With a few key strokes, Syncrude staff can open and close valves, make temperature adjustments inside furnaces and keep the steady flow of oil sands products moving.


Venture is privileged to have produced this commemorative magazine on the occasion of Syncrude’s 50th anniversary. It has been an honour to chronicle the stories of the people and innovation which have built this energy giant to its current level of success.

· Working together for over 30 years to provide locally manufactured work wear and commercial dry-cleaning · ISO 14001 certified, utilizing an environmentally friendly technique that extracts and recycles hydrocarbons pulled from cleaning process. · A Socially responsible organization enhancing livelihoods through employment and social infrastructure support and development

Congratulations on 50 years from your longest serving First Nation

owned supplier!

SERVICEE

SERVICE

SERVICEEE

SERVICEE on 50 years

of innovation!

ongratulationsSyncrude

ongratulations


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PREMIUM UNLEADED:

Source: FirstEnergy Capital Corp., Bloomberg.

Price Di�erential for Edmonton Light, Synthetic Crude and Western Canada Select to West Texas Intermediate

$20

$10

$0

($10)

($20)

($30)

($40)

($50)

US $/bbl

Jan-11

WCS Edmonton Light Synthetic

Jan-12 Jan-13 Jan-14Jul-11 Jul-12 Jul-13

West Texas Intermediate

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“By upgrading and doing the value-added here in Alberta, it is a bigger capital outlay for Syncrude, but it does give them the ability to get a better price for it.” – Todd Hirsch, chief economist, ATB Financial

TODD HIRSCH

FAST FACT: Air quality in Fort McMurray is better than many North American cities – including Toronto and Edmonton. Source: Alberta Clean Air Strategic Alliance


A tribute to our most important resourceSyncrude’s success is a testament to the resourcefulness of the thousands of men and women who work together to help secure Canada’s energy future through the responsible development and operation of the Syncrude project. As its largest investor, Canadian Oil Sands salutes the many remarkable achievements accomplished over a rich 50-year history.

Congratulations on your 50 years of endless contribution in shaping Alberta’s business landscape

GardaWorld prides itself by always proposing a local approach of doing business. We recognize the importance of giving back by having a positive impact on the communities where our employees live and work.

GardaWorld Fort McMurray’s branch is honoured to have an Aboriginal workforce of 20% within its ranks. We have recently joined forces with the Fort McKay Metis Group of Companies and formed GardaNorth which is 51% owned by Fort McKay Metis Group of Companies. GardaWorld is among the few firms who hold the Certificate of Recognition (COR) given to companies that meet the highest safety standards.

If you would like to know more, visit gardaglobal.com/protective-services

GardaWorld is proud to be associated with Syncrude Canada’s 50th anniversary commemorative magazine

garda.com


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ROCHELLE YOUNG

NEIGHBOURS


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“Through my whole career, I feel I’ve been able to be a part of environmental improvement.”– Rochelle Young, team lead, Mildred Lake tailings and lease development planning

IN HER OFFICE, ROCHELLE Young sits with maps spread around her, showing the progress that Syncrude Canada Ltd. will make in reclamation over the next 50 years. “Things are going to change, fairly dramatically,” she says. “At Syncrude, if you have an idea, you can make it happen.”

Young grew up in Fort McMur-ray, and returned after finishing her schooling to help make sure the land she lives on remains healthy. She studied environmental management at Lakeland College, and moved back to her hometown to work at Syncrude, where her parents had worked before her. Now, she lives in the community with her husband (who also works at Syncrude) and her children, who attend the same school she did.

In 1992, Syncrude planted its mil-lionth tree on reclaimed land. Since then, the company has worked to further technological innovation when it comes to land reclamation, while planting another six million trees on the landscape.

One of the major focus points of Syncrude reclamation efforts has been in finding innovative ways to develop natural environments that support the forest. To that end, Young’s team follows a process that utilizes the natural soils and large woody debris from the pre-existing

boreal forest to build reclaimed landscapes that resemble a natural forest bottom. The surfaces of the reclaimed areas are left rough to retain moisture and create natural microsites for a larger diversity of Boreal plants to grow.

“We don’t want to create something that resembles a golf course,” Young says of reclaimed landscapes. Syncrude uses more than trees to reclaim land from oil sands mining – it also plants shrubs and other plants that would naturally appear in the region, including blueberry and cranberry bushes. The multi- disciplinary team has been par-ticularly successful in researching and constructing the Sandhill Fen Watershed, which is providing the initial conditions necessary to develop a self-sustaining fen wetland and its watershed.

While she started at the company working in the envi-ronmental services department, Young moved to reclamation in 2007. Now she works specifically in tailings and lease development planning. “It’s the future of the oil sands,” says Young. “That’s why I feel lucky that I get to work with this team.”

“Through my whole career, I feel I’ve been able to be a part of environmental improvement,”

she says. “Tailings to me are not just a byproduct of making oil; it’s a material we can use to rebuild the landscape. It’s a step towards the end goal, not leaving anything to waste.”

At the moment, Young’s team is involved in the implementation of new tailings technologies that will further the reclamation of tailings ponds. “Being part of making something better, that’s what I want. It’s what drives me to come to work.”

Young says she has heard numerous times that Syncrude is a leader when it comes to reclamation. “I don’t think it’s just the land we actually reclaim, it’s the practices that we use when we do it,” she says. “We’re part of something to be proud of. Things have not been stagnant since I came here; it’s been continuous growth.”

Indeed, Young shows off Syncrude’s complete reclamation plan – a detailed geographical de-scription of how the mining area will look once it has been entirely reclaimed. She says Syncrude has invested time, money and exper-tise in how to fully reclaim the landscape and create watersheds and landscapes that truly recreate the boreal forest. That, of course, is the intent.

BY Lyndsie Bourgon • PHOTOGRAPHY BY John Gaucher

Rochelle Young is working to implement plans that will return the landscape to its natural state

Planning for the Future


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All the School’s a Stage

IN THE COMMUNITY

SOME DRESSED UP AS FROGS, others as bumblebees and still others as penguins. In April 2013, students at Father J.A. Turcotte Elementary School, and down the road at Dr. K.A. Clark School, capped off a week of theatre practice by putting on a performance on the importance of energy conservation.

Actors from Calgary’s Ever-green Theatre company helped the students at both schools develop their own plays through

the theatre company’s Grow a Show program, which is linked with Alberta Education’s science curriculum. Syncrude Canada Ltd. provided the funding for Evergreen Theatre to attend both schools for a week, work with the students, rehearse and ultimately perform their plays.

The motto of Grow a Show is: “Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand.” The idea of using student-acted performances

Syncrude’s sponsorship of the Evergreen Theatre helps students learn about environmental science

to describe environmental science is that the children learn and internalize the content. “Students learn how specific actions like turning down the heat or turning off the lights can benefit endangered species like the polar bear or whooping crane,” says Sean Fraser of Evergreen Theatre. More than 300 students at Father J.A. Turcotte and Dr. K. A. Clark elementary schools in Fort McMurray went through the program in 2013.


Accipiter Radar is proud to be a part of Syncrude Canada’s on-going innovation and progress in environmental management.

Syncrude operates the largest and most sophisticated radar bird deterrent system in the world to help protect waterfowl. The Accipiter® Bird Protection Radar System employs advanced automated technology to detect and track birds so that deterrents can be efficiently utilized. In addition, the system captures and stores a wealth of information on bird habits which are analyzed by scientists, environmentalists and regulators, to determine how to consistently improve interaction in the future.

It is Syncrude’s strong commitment to sustainability that makes such exceptional stewardship of natural resources possible.

That is something to celebrate!

Congratulations Syncrude on 50 Years of Innovation

Congratulations Syncrude Canada on 50 Years!

On behalf of Univar Canada and our supplier partners, congratulations on your 50 year anniversary. We are proud to be your chemical supplier and thank you for your business!

We look forward to remaining your key supplier of commodity and specialty chemicals as we look toward solutions that bring Syncrude Canada value: technically, commercially and responsibly.

Congratulations Syncrude Canada, and to all of your past, present and contract employees. Thank you for all that you do to contribute to the province of Alberta and for Canada.

Chemistry Delivered.™

Univar Congratulates Syncrude on 50th Anniversary - Blue.indd 1 4/15/14 8:53:26 AM


Thank you.It’s been a great partnership.

Way to goon turning

the BIG 50!

Proud supplier of valves for the past 15 years…and many more.

lockwoodint.com

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BY Shannon Sutherland Smith

Putting Local

Thank you.It’s been a great partnership.

Way to goon turning

the BIG 50!

Proud supplier of valves for the past 15 years…and many more.

lockwoodint.com

000SYN-LockwoodInternational-FP.indd 1 2014-04-28 2:47 PM

Syncrude has deliberately helped build Aboriginal-owned companies through its procurement program

Communities

First

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EVER BEFORE HAD FIRE- retardant clothing looked quite so fetching.

When the team from Goodfish Lake Business Corporation (GLBC) took a field trip, from the Whitefish Lake First Nation just

northeast of Edmonton, a few hundred kilometres north to Fort McMurray to see the workwear they manufacture in action on the Syncrude site, it was somewhat overwhelming for many of them. Those durable, blue coveralls were a symbol of success for Goodfish Lake employees. “A lot of the people we brought had never been to Fort McMurray before, never mind seeing those massive work sites,” says George Halfe, chief operating officer at GLBC, which was launched by the small First Nation and a local economic development group decades earlier. “They were ecstatic. They were on Cloud 9. It rejuvenated their spirits and gave them the motivation to continue with the vision our leaders had established 37 years ago.”

The corporation began in 1977 as a dry-cleaning company serving the oil sands, and within a couple of years of launching, it branched into garment manufacturing, serving large clients like Syncrude. Now employing 90 people in a community of about 2,000, GLBC has diversified considerably, reaching into several sectors – from manufacturing and construction to agriculture and food services. “The business was started as a means for providing direct employment to the community and that was and is our focus. The level of poverty in Goodfish Lake back then was terrible and employment was a huge problem,” says Halfe. “We have seen significant

changes for the better since then. We really have built something here.”

Halfe says there are always ups and downs, but long-term relationships with clients like Syncrude have helped them create sustainable growth with environmentally responsible solutions that also provide good economic value. “For 37 years, we have maintained our dry-cleaning process, collecting about 20 barrels of sludge from the clothes we clean for each three-month period, and sending it away to be recycled rather than just letting it go down into the sewer, as often happens during wet cleaning. Customers like Syncrude really value our commitment to environmental best practices,” says Halfe, adding that one of the corporation’s greatest achievements was attaining the ISO 140001 certifica-tion in 2007, making it the first Aboriginal business in Canada to earn that internationally recognized environmental certification.

The company recently underwent an aggressive reorganization, recruiting some high-level manage-ment talent and restructuring its board. GLBC also moved its dry-cleaning operations to Edmonton a little over a year ago, focusing on manufacturing at Goodfish Lake.

Halfe himself started out fixing sewing machines and doing deliveries but he says his satisfaction doesn’t come from climbing the corporate ladder but rather from contributing to the community. “Our main objective remains employing our people,” says Halfe. “Any profit we generate goes into infrastructure, education and business development here at home. There is no single individual who is a millionaire – not that there’s anything wrong with making millionaires, but that isn’t what we’re about.

N

– George HalfeCEO at GLBC

We’re just really grateful that a big company like Syncrude believed in us and was willing to work with a little guy.”

BRIDGE BUILDER: Syncrude Aboriginal business liaison Doug Webb sees his role as a relationship builder.


Schmidt + Clemens Group

We are the international market leader for: • serpentine tube assemblies • reformer tubes • main collecting systems used in steam cracker plants and steam reformers.

Congratulations to 50th Anniversary. We are proud to be ‘Close at Heart’ to Syncrude.

More than centrifugal casting and cast components

Schmidt + Clemens GroupKaiserau 2 · 51789 Lindlar / GermanyPhone: +49 2266 92-0Email: [email protected]: www.schmidt-clemens.com

POWER PRODUCTS

Proudly supplying custom manufactured mobile power generation equipment meeting Syncrude’s exacting requirements.

9204 - 37 AvenueEdmonton, AB T6E 5L4

Tel: 780-455-2260www.frontierpower.com

Congratulations to Syncrude on

50 years!

As a 5 time Presidents Safety Award winner and dedicated serviceprovider since 1983, Terracon is proud to be part of this milestone.

CONGRATULATING

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We’re just really grateful that a big company like Syncrude believed in us and was willing to work with a little guy.”

SYNCRUDE HAS BEEN COMMITTED TO WORK-ing alongside its neighbours since its inception five decades ago, and its immediate neighbours include five First Nations and six Métis locals. Syncrude not only directly employs about 500 Aboriginal people who represent more than nine per cent of its total employee population, but many more are employed by its contractors. Syncrude has conducted more than $2 billion in business with Aboriginal compa-nies since 1992, including $186 million in 2013 alone.

Syncrude’s Aboriginal business liaison, Doug Webb, sees his role as that of a relationship builder. His early years growing up in the area have given him a deep appreciation for his culture and now he has the opportunity to contribute to the economic health of Aboriginal-owned businesses.“In this role I have come what seems like full circle,” he says. “The kids I played with are now members of the local business community as managers and CEOs or are running their own businesses. I have a chance to go to the outlying communities and reconnect with old friends and rediscover my own Aboriginal heritage. I hope to increase the Aboriginal involvement in the region and ensure success in business for those companies we work with.”

Syncrude was also a founding member of the Northeastern Alberta Aboriginal Business Asso-ciation (NAABA), which has more than 120 full members as well as about 180 associate members. It was when NAABA was “able to get the ear of Syncrude” that the association really took root, says

former NAABA president Nicole Bourque-Bouchier. She says Syncrude saw the value in NAABA early on and really helped keep it motivated to grow. The current NAABA president, Mitch Mercredi, says it’s very gratifying to see Aboriginal businesses earning local contracts, and Syncrude has been supportive in ensuring full members have access to bid on those contracts. The organization has been a great place to learn, grow and network for countless successful entrepreneurs. NAABA was the proving grounds for business owner Cheryl Alexander, the founder of C&O Consulting, which provides Aboriginal awareness training, team building, leadership development and facilitation services.

Alexander left a good job with the municipality in 2007 to go work as the general manager at NAABA until 2011 when her own business really began to take off. “The demand is enormous and I really can’t meet it on my own, so I’m now in the process of hiring people to help me grow this business, since I have a very ambitious vision for this company that involves expanding across Canada,” she says, adding that working closely with companies like Syncrude has helped her hone her skills and product offerings as well as build her confidence that her business really is adding value for her clients. “Right now I’m at the point of telling my clients that it’s time for me to step back from some of the day-to-day responsi-bilities, but clients don’t really like to hear that,” she says with a laugh. “But I remind them that there was a time that Dave Tuccaro had to stop driving the water truck, and then they realize that, yes, if this business is going to achieve its full potential, this needs to happen, and they can trust me to choose the right people to represent me.” Tuccaro, a member of

– Doug Webb, Syncrude Aboriginal business liaison

“I hope to increase Aboriginal involvement in the region and ensure success in business for those companies we work with.”

CHERYL ALEXANDER

Wishing Syncrude another 50 years of resource leadership. Your partners at Newalta celebrate your achievements as we continue to improve environmental performance together.

CLIENT: NEWALTA TRIM: 8.25" x 10.75" COLOURS: C M Y K

JOB #: NE-1054 LIVE: PUBLICATION: unknownDESCRIPTION: BLEED: 8.75" x 11.25" INSERTION DATE:

APPROVALS:ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: CREATIVE DIRECTOR: WRITER STUDIO MANAGER:

1910 Yonge St., Toronto, ON T: 416 484-1959

APPROVED

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Wishing Syncrude another 50 years of resource leadership. Your partners at Newalta celebrate your achievements as we continue to improve environmental performance together.

CLIENT: NEWALTA TRIM: 8.25" x 10.75" COLOURS: C M Y K

JOB #: NE-1054 LIVE: PUBLICATION: unknownDESCRIPTION: BLEED: 8.75" x 11.25" INSERTION DATE:

APPROVALS:ACCOUNT DIRECTOR: CREATIVE DIRECTOR: WRITER STUDIO MANAGER:

1910 Yonge St., Toronto, ON T: 416 484-1959

APPROVED

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Congratulations Syncrude on your 50th Anniversary

We are proud to partner with you in

research and innovationleading to responsible resource development.

www.albertainnovatestechfutures.ca

AITF SYNCRUDE 50TH ANNIVERSARY AD_FINAL.indd 1 2014-04-15 12:49 PM

FABRICATION • MODULES • CONSTRUCTIONMAINTENANCE • SHUTDOWNS • MACHINING

to our partners at Syncrude


the same First Nation as Alexander, is a living legend as an entrepreneur. He owns a group of companies that is worth more than $100 million, and he started out with one industrial vacuum truck and one water truck.

Many successful Aboriginal entrepreneurs started out in hands-on roles working on site for oil compa-nies. That was certainly the case for the owners of Birch Mountain Enterprises Ltd. who are all former Syncrude employees. Altogether, they had almost 40 years of experience with Syncrude before deciding to strike out on their own, and they have now built up a fleet of equipment and employ about 100 peple. “We hope to continue to build our working relationship with Syncrude as they gave Birch Mountain our first contract in the area, and that meant a great deal to us then and it still does now,” says co-founder Ivan Boucher, a former welder with Syncrude. “We each have 10-plus years of service with Syncrude, and we have used this experience to build our company around safety, and we remain committed to our employees because Syncrude demonstrated that commitment to us during our time there.”

Syncrude is one of 13 companies in Canada, and the only oil sands operator, to be accredited at the gold level in the Progressive Aboriginal Relations (PAR) program of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business. There has also been an increased focus on Aboriginal business development since 2013, which

resulted in a 27 per cent increase in Aboriginal spend-ing at Syncrude over 2012. It has been estimated that Aboriginal-owned and controlled corporations now account for more than $1 billion in annual revenues from the oil sands, and entrepreneurs like Bourque- Bouchier hope to see the next generation benefit as well. “The motivating factor for us in starting our business was the freedom, and we also wanted to be mentors to our children to show them that if they want something, giving it their maximum effort all the time can make them successful.”

– Nicole Bourque-Bouchierpast president, NAABA

“When the Northeastern

Alberta Aboriginal

Business Association was able to

get the ear of Syncrude, the

association really took

root.”

NICOLE BOURQUE-BOUCHIER


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50 FIFTY YEARS LATER,

Syncrude continues to invest heavily in new technologies, just as it did when it was first incorporated. Much of the company’s current research focuses on environmental remediation and tailings management. The company continues to lead and has reached a new milestone for Aboriginal employment, at nine per cent of its total workforce in 2012. 2013: Syncrude’s procurement contracts with Aboriginal-owned businesses reach a cumulative total of $2 billion 2013: Just more than a decade after rumbling into the mine, Syncrude’s first Caterpillar 797B truck reaches 100,000 service hours 2014: Syncrude celebrates its 50th anniversary

Today & Tomorrow

MILESTONES


50Telecommunication and Infrastructure Specialists for the Oil & Gas Industry

1(877)9PCSINC (972-7462) WWW.PRECOMSOL.COM

Congratulations on 50 years leadingthe Oilsands region

We are proud to be an Alberta based company supporting our communities and Oilsand’sRegion from our offices in Fort McMurray, Edmonton and Calgary

a Rockwood Companywww.acuren.com

HERE’S TO

YOUR PARTNER AND FRIENDS AT ACUREN

SYNCRUDE CANADACONGRATULATIONS50 YEARS!

Congratulations on Securing Canada’s Energy Future ™ for 50 years.

Your lawyer. Your law �rm. Your business advisor.

Where Clients Matter Most.bennettjones.comImage © Syncrude Canada Ltd.

BennettJones_SyncrudeCommAd_CMYK_3PgHoriz v2.indd 1 25/04/2014 10:00:23 AM


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The Making of an IconWood bison have become a symbol of northeastern Alberta, thanks in no small part to Syncrude’s patronage of the artsABORIGINAL ARTIST BRIAN CLARK’S work has been presented to royalty, like Prince Phillip, Grammy Award-winning artists, like k.d. lang, and to the people of Wood Buffalo.

Clark’s best-known work flanks Highway 63 north of Fort McMurray and is the starting point for a hiking trail on reclaimed oil sands land – the Matcheetawin Discovery Trail. Commissioned by Syncrude in 1994, Clark and a team of workers from the

Fort McKay First Nation sculpted a herd of eight siltstone bison. The four-metre-tall bison were unveiled to a crowd of 3,400 people on September 3, 1995, and have served as a landmark in the area ever since.

Weighing 35 tonnes each, and now called the Syncrude Bison Gateway, the bison are one example of Syncrude’s support of the arts in the Wood Buffalo region. The company also supports a visual and performing arts entrance

scholarship at Keyano College, sponsors the Keyano College Theatre through Syncrude Arts Alive concerts, and sponsors Aboriginal artists as they visit schools in the area and teach students about cultural song and dance. In 2012, the company also sponsored four First Nations art exhibits that travelled throughout the province through the Al-berta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibit Program, which was organized by the Art Gallery of Alberta.

IN THE COMMUNITY

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Worldwide www.jacobs.com

Global experience applied locally, setting a new benchmark.Jacobs is one of the world’s largest and most diverse providers of technical, professional, and construction services, including all aspects of architecture, engineering and construction, operations and maintenance, as well as scientific and specialty consulting.

Congratulations Syncrude on providing 50 years of synthetic oil production and innovative solutions to Canada. We are proud to be part of your journey since 1978, wishing you continued success over the next 50 years.

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“You can’t wait until you’re done mining. We need to start progressive reclamation as we’re going along.”

Worldwide www.jacobs.com

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000SYN-JacobsCanada-FP.indd 1 2014-04-22 12:13 PM

– Warren Zubot, research associate

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A Clear Solution

KOI FISH DRIFT THROUGH a tank sitting in Syncrude’s Research and Development Centre in Edmonton. They swim about while Warren Zubot, a research associate at Syncrude, explains how difficult it can be to get the message out about what companies like his are doing to forward the cause of environmen-tal reclamation.

“There’s so much misinforma-tion out there, people don’t know what to think anymore,” says Zubot, examining the fish. They have the normal number of fins, eyes and gills, and the only thing out of the ordinary might be how large they’ve grown. “People take a look at the size of the fish in this tank and ask me, ‘Why are the fish so big? Is there something wrong with the water?’ ”

The water is remarkable for its clarity. The fish are swimming in tailings pond water that has been treated using petroleum fluid coke – part of Zubot’s ongoing research into using a byproduct of the coker units used in bitumen upgrading. Zubot compares the process to a home water filter. Just as the filter absorbs chemicals present in drinking water, petro-leum coke can filter suspended solids and absorb organics like naphthenic acids, the major components in tailings water that make it toxic to aquatic life.

“Studies have shown that it will take years for [tailings] water to naturally detoxify and support aquatic life,” says Zubot. “We’re coming to a point in Syncrude’s business life where we have to do large-scale aquatic reclamation projects, and to do that we have

to speed up reclamation of the water.” Zubot’s research findings speed up the reclamation process considerably, and he continues to discover how adding different chemical compounds can further improve the process.

Zubot isn’t alone in this project. Gail Buchanan, senior technology development engineer, worked closely with him to develop his research into a field pilot program as part of Syncrude’s Research and Development team.

Buchanan oversaw the development phase of the field pilot project. While most field tests may take one or two months, this project took the better part of two years, due to engineering requirements and seasonal restrictions. The field tests are

typically conducted between May and the end of October. But the long R&D timeline is only a fraction compared to the overall mining timeframe. “I think people don’t understand that these mines can be active for 30 to 40 years and maybe even more,” Buchanan says.

“We’re here for generations,” Zubot says. “You can’t wait until you’re done mining. We need to start progressive reclamation as we’re going along.”

“We’ve spent millions of dollars on this project so far, and it is actually a direct result of Syncrude investing in R&D,” Zubot says. “We’re trying to make a difference and improve on our environmental performance. That’s why we are committed to keep moving forward.”

Scientific breakthrough turns tailings water into life-sustaining fish habitatsBY Caleb Caswell

GAIL BUCHANAN AND WARREN ZUBOT

NEIGHBOURS


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“Syncrude has been PAR Gold since 2001, the PAR program’s longest standing gold member.”

JP GLADU

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It pays to become a long-term partner with organizations that support Aboriginal people. Canadians across the country feel the effects

Role Models

IN THE COMMUNITYPH

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– Jean Paul Gladu,president of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business


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Jamieson: Role models are invaluable in all of our programs. It’s important for young people to see that they have incredible gifts and potential, and if they set their sights on a goal they can achieve it with support. The role models we feature at the Indspire awards have been instrumental; young people tell us it has changed their lives in many ways. I think Syncrude, as a champion, has allowed us to grow and expand our programming right across the country. The influence of the role models has been fabulous.

What has contributed to Syncrude’s multiple gold level ac-creditations in the PAR program? What sets the company apart?

Jean Paul Gladu: Here is an exam-ple of a great program Syncrude has developed. In 2008, Syncrude partnered with local community college Keyano College to develop the Syncrude Aboriginal Trades

WITH A MANDATE TO transform Aboriginal education, Indspire (formerly the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation) has been honouring Aboriginal role models from across Canada at the annual Indspire Awards for more than 20 years. And as a sponsor of the awards from the beginning, Syncrude counts Indspire and its programs among the company’s successes in working with Aboriginal communities.

At the same time, the Ca-nadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB) has validated Syncrude’s work with Aboriginal communities. Syncrude is recog-nized as a Progressive Aborig-inal Relations (PAR) program gold level company, a distinction it has held since 2001.

Roberta Jamieson, president and CEO of Indspire, and Jean Paul (JP) Gladu, president of the Canadian Council for Aborig-inal Business, sat down to talk

about the strong relationship Syncrude has forged with Ab-original organizations around the country.

How has Syncrude helped Indspire succeed or progress in its mission?

Roberta Jamieson: Syncrude has been an invaluable partner with Indspire. By supporting our awards program, they are helping us to showcase positive role models for indigenous youth across Canada, and helping us demonstrate to our young people that anything is possible if they stay in school. Syncrude has also supported an internship for Aboriginal youth with the Royal Alberta Museum.

How far does Indspire reach? Can you give us some examples of how Syncrude’s donations have helped grow Indspire’s programs?

“Some donors give and then move on to the next charity or initiative. Syncrude has been a solid partner for more than 20 years.”

ROBERTA JAMIESON

– Roberta Jamieson,president and CEO, Indspire


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000SYN-UA_Canada-FP.indd 1 2014-04-07 11:10 AM

Preparation (SATP) program. It was launched a year later, with 40 Aboriginal students from communities located across the northeastern Alberta region selected for seven months of in-school training, followed by a one-month work program at Syncrude. Upon successful completion and pre-employment screening, the graduates are guaranteed a job at Syncrude through an apprentice-ship. Syncrude has the first right of recruitment for all participants in the program in exchange for being the major sponsor of this initiative.

Nine per cent of Syncrude’s work-force has Aboriginal heritage, which equates to about 500 people. How does this compare with industries across Canada? Does it make it a national leader?

Gladu: Many companies set goals to employ an Aboriginal work-force, yet so infrequently are they able to achieve that. Syncrude is definitely a national leader in this area and is representative of a PAR Gold company. Syncrude’s success in this performance area is due to a multifaceted approach.

Syncrude strives to hire eligible Aboriginal people that have the

skills to do the job. They seek input and feedback on six key hiring programs from the Aborig-inal community and peers. They have had a dedicated Aboriginal recruiter since 2005.

Does one company’s support help Aboriginal peoples across the country?

Jamieson: Yes, especially a com-pany like Syncrude. Some donors give and then move on to the next charity or initiative. Syncrude has been a solid partner for more than 20 years. If you know something about our communi-ties, you know that relationship building and partnerships are extremely valuable to indigenous communities and peoples across the country. Syncrude’s support started before most Canadian companies. They’ve been leading the way, in many ways, and they’ve been contracting with indigenous businesses for procurement in many areas. Our own chair of the board, David Tuccaro, spent his early years working with Syncrude. This is a lasting legacy that Syncrude has provided.

Would it be fair to say that the company’s been a role model for

how to develop strong relation-ships with Aboriginal peoples for other companies?

Jamieson: Absolutely.

What sets Syncrude apart?

Gladu: The metrics for a gold level standing in the PAR program is to receive excellent feedback from a verifier on management prac-tices, and evidence of increasing maturity in the management of Aboriginal relations. In addition, the company needs to have strong support from the community and compelling evidence from the community of sustained positive impacts from the company’s programs and activities. Lastly, long-term relationships with the Aboriginal communities are necessary and evidence of active and strategic management of relationships over time. A com-pany needs to have demonstrated success of programs through the successful delivery over the long term – five-plus years.

How has Syncrude exceeded the CCAB’s metrics?

Gladu: Syncrude’s success begins at a foundational level. Aboriginal


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relations are integrated within strategies and in the fabric of how the company is managed, which is commendable. The focus on Aboriginal relations is well com-municated inside and outside the organization. Leadership shows a good commitment to Aboriginal relations and to full engagement with all relevant stakeholders. Syncrude has been PAR Gold since 2001, the PAR program’s longest standing gold member.

How has Syncrude’s support of education made it an example of good Aboriginal relations community outreach?

Jamieson: Their commitment to support the development of Aboriginal-owned businesses, their emphasis on hiring and procurement, setting goals, measuring, being transparent about their progress … I think all of those things really set an excellent example. Working in partnership with communities in the region and also supporting the growth of Aboriginal partnerships through business, they put their money where their mouth is.

Syncrude has spent $2 billion in Aboriginal procurement since 1992, and continues to grow Aboriginal business relationships. Where does the company stand in terms of national position when it comes to Aboriginal procurement?

Gladu: This is certainly com-mendable. Syncrude’s success is evident in their business develop-ment and mentorship initiatives aimed to support and build communities. The company gives support and encouragement to Aboriginal businesses through direct assistance, provisions and facilitation of networking discussions and database support all sustained by a base of effective procurement practices and an action plan to give preference to Aboriginal companies and business groups. Commendable support is also provided for training and education initiatives that help nurture business developments.

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Yesterday’s Oil SandsSyncrude spent five years researching how it could reclaim a northern Alberta wetland

RECLAIMED LANDSCAPES ARE not supposed to look like golf courses. That’s the position of Syncrude Canada Ltd.’s reclamation team.

Syncrude partnered with elders from local Aboriginal communities, researchers from the universities of Alberta, Saskatchewan, McMaster and Southern Illinois and BGC Engineering, on a five-year project that created a 57-hectare watershed. Far from looking like a golf course, the area is complete with small hills, called hummocks, and valleys that are designed to allow rain and snowmelt to flow over the land. The showpiece of the area is a 17-hectare boreal wetland fen – the first recreated fen in the entire Wood Buffalo region.

Fen watersheds are a critical component of the boreal forest and occur naturally in the area. Migratory birds and waterfowl, as well as a diverse range of plants and animals, depend on these peat-forming wetlands for their survival. Years of research went into the creation

of Syncrude’s Sandhill Fen Watershed. Syncrude and its research team first used recycled forest floor materials to create the hummocks because the materials contain seeds from blueberry, bearberry and cranberry plants that will help sustain new life in the area.

The company also trans-planted live peat vegetation from other parts of Syncrude’s lease, where mining was due to begin. “The information we gain from this large-scale project will answer a variety of research questions to guide our future wetland reclamation efforts,” says Carla Wytrykush, an environmental scientist with the company. “We want to address a variety of components of landform performance includ-ing hydrology, hydrogeology, salt, water and carbon balance, revegetation techniques and vegetation establishment.” The end result is that Syncrude has been able to recreate a landscape that is native to the area and that sustains native plant and animal life.


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IN THE COMMUNITY


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DOUG WEBB

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“When Syncrude needs vendors that can do a certain kind of work, they come to me and ask if there’s an Aboriginal business that can help. My job is to bring them together.”

DOUG WEBB’S INFLUENCE in Fort McMurray is just as much a product of family as it is hard work and dedication.

When he was growing up, Webb’s mom spent 25 years in Fort McMurray and its surround-ing First Nations communities as a counsellor with the Native Counselling Services of Alberta. She did everything from giving legal advice to translating language. And she forged connections in the communities that would extend through generations. Now, her son follows in her footsteps, working to build connections as an intermediary between Aboriginal businesses and Syncrude. “If they don’t know me personally, they know my mom,” says Webb. “So people are receptive to talking with me.”

Webb started working at Syncrude 28 years ago, as a labourer right out of high school. “It was new and progressive,” he says. “They seemed to be on the forefront of Aboriginal hiring with their Aboriginal program.” Webb enrolled in that Aboriginal program, spending time training in analysis of oil sands core samples before taking on a role in the automotive shop as a me-chanic apprentice. All of Webb’s Aboriginal employee peers from that era have remained with Syncrude and some have moved up to leadership and manage-

ment positions. “The recruiter at the time said there would be opportunity to develop,” says Webb. “That worked out really well.” He worked as a mechanic for 26 years. “I enjoy being a tech-nician,” he says. “But that can be hard on the body, and as you get older you need to start thinking about what else you can do.”

In 2012, Webb moved on to his next role at Syncrude, acting as the Aboriginal business liaison between the company and Aboriginal-owned businesses in the community. It’s his job to find Aboriginal opportunities within the contracts that Syncrude needs to fill throughout the year. “When Syncrude needs vendors that can do a certain kind of work, they come to me and ask if there’s an Aboriginal business that can help. My job is to bring them together,” says Webb. “I grew up here, and know a lot of the people in business now. I went to school with several people who are now owners of Aboriginal businesses.”

Some very successful Aborig-inal businesses have been born through Syncrude’s commitment to work with them, including Dave Tuccaro’s Neegan Technical Services Ltd. “Neegan went from a small company to a now multimillion-dollar company,” Webb says.

Reflecting increased capac-ity among Aboriginal firms,

Syncrude’s annual procurement with them had reached $146 million by 2012. “While Syncrude was happy with what we had accomplished up until that point, we decided not to rest on our laurels, and instead aimed to see how much more we can do,” says Webb. “If there’s opportunity, we want to be aware of it.” That thinking led to a 27 per cent increase in 2013, to $186 million. Currently, Syncrude has contracts with Aboriginal suppliers covering everything from labour needs to engineering, warehousing and computer programming.

Webb’s job is what he calls “fluid” – he reports to Syncrude’s Aboriginal Steering Committee as well as various other commit-tees and management teams in Syncrude and the community. He describes his job as breaking down walls between the compa-ny and these communities. “It can be very difficult,” he says. “It takes always being a force in the community, being recognized. People know they can come and see me and we can try and do something.”

Webb is still not resting on his laurels: “I think in the coming years there will be a significant positive impact on the Aboriginal business community through Syncrude,” he says. “That’s what we’re trying to develop.”

Local Roots Foster ConnectionsSyncrude’s head of Aboriginal procurement knows the importance of being engaged in the communities where the company operatesBY Lyndsie Bourgon • PHOTOGRAPHY BY Joey Podlubny

FAST FACT: The Wood Buffalo Environmental Association monitors the air in the Fort McMurray region, 24 hours per day, 365 days a year. Source: CAPP

– Doug Webb,local champion


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REASON FOR OPTIMISM: Syncrude chair Ryan Kubik believes the company can build on its successes.

Road to Strong


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“Syncrude really has come into its own, with great results for its investors and an important part of the Canadian economy.”-Ryan Kubik,chair of the board

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Syncrude joint venture participant Canadian Oil Sands Limited believes solid project management will pave the road to the future

W E LIKE WELL-EXECUTED projects,” Ryan Kubik says of the investor perspective on Syncrude.

For Kubik, chair of Syncrude’s board of directors and also CEO of

joint venture participant Canadian Oil Sands Ltd., that’s what makes a leader in the challenging oil sands industry.

Kubik is referring to Syncrude’s Aurora North Mine Train Relocation project, which was com-pleted months ahead of schedule and substantially under budget. “It’s a somewhat unusual thing to bring projects in under budget in the current oil sands environment,” he says.

“We’re going to be constructing similar facilities going forward,” says Kubik. “We can take that knowledge and experience, apply it and use it to control the costs of future developments. It’s a positive indication of where we can go with future capital and controlling future costs.”

In fact, Kubik expects that as new Syncrude- developed technologies come online, the company will be able to deliver increasingly strong results. “One of the most interesting things that we’re doing with this new capital is to incorporate some new technology,” Kubik says. “Over the last 50 years, Syncrude has been a demonstrated tech-nology leader when it comes to both production processes and environmental improvements.”

“It’s easy to forget that this is a technology-based industry, but Syncrude has helped invent this business and it really is technology that is making

BY Martin Dover • PHOTOGRAPH BY Brian Buchsdruecker

RETURNSRoad to Strong

this business viable – it’s a technological marvel,” Kubik says. He points to the company’s develop-ment of wet crushing in its newest mine trains and energy efficiency initiatives as examples of how the company’s continuous investment in technology has aided its overall business. “Syncrude uses about one-third as much energy to get the same bitumen out of the ground as SAGD,” he says. The company also recovers 90 per cent or more of the bitumen out of the ore it mines, which is a high recovery rate. The introduction of Syncrude’s wet crushing technology is aimed at further improving bitumen recovery. “Syncrude innovations such as low energy extraction and hydrotransport have improved energy efficiency in our operation. That’s been driven by economics, but it also means that you’re reducing your environmental footprint.”

Efficient operations generally have the added benefit of strong financial performance and Syncrude is no different. Kubik’s company, Canadi-an Oil Sands, owns 36.74 per cent of the Syncrude joint venture and he notes it has generated a total compound return for its investors averaging 14 per cent annually since 2001. “It’s a significant return and a strong return relative to other investments out there,” Kubik says. “It really has come into its own.”

“It’s been an interesting evolution if you think of Syncrude and its history because it started out as more of an experimental project and it continues to be technology-based. But it became a project that gen-erates great results for its investors and an important part of the Canadian economy,” Kubik says.

With continued excellence in project manage-ment, Kubik aims to keep those returns coming.


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CONTINUED LEADERSHIP: Former Syncrude president and CEO Scott Sullivan believes the company will continue to lead the oil sands industry in community relations and environmental stewardship.

Scott Sullivan says Syncrude’s success is rooted in its commitment to communityBY Martin Dover

The Local Oil SandsCOMPANY


YNCRUDE IS A proven leader in the oil sands industry, but what sets it apart? For Scott Sullivan, who served as its

president and CEO until earlier this year, it means maintaining the company’s position as a community-focused oil sands producer. Syncrude’s head office and executive team are based in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, and Sullivan says, “We get great value out of being a local company. Back in the day, Fort McMurray was a very small community and we were very much a part of that community. In a way, we are Fort McMurray because we grew up together.”

Over the course of 50 years, and as Syncrude’s northeastern Alberta workforce has grown, the company has encouraged its employees to live in Fort McMurray. In its early years it built neighbourhoods through a housing division called Northward Developments, helping incoming employees find places to live.

Sullivan says that over the course of time, and through efforts like the Good Neighbours grant program for employees who are community volunteers, Syncrude has established itself as a leading company in the region. Today, he says, Syncrude has redoubled its community relations efforts. The company gives generously to local causes, and has established a Housing Support Program to help its workforce purchase property in Fort McMurray, and enable them to make a long-term commitment to the community.

The company has also strength-ened its Aboriginal relations efforts, with donations to Elder Care facilities in Fort McKay and Fort Chipewyan; the $2-million Syncrude Aboriginal Trades Program at Keyano College; and the money it spends on procure-ment from Aboriginal-owned

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“Reclamation is a long-term process. Working closely together with Aboriginal stakeholders is important.”-Scott Sullivan,former Syncrude CEO

FAST FACT: About 173 billion barrels of Canada’s oil reserves (about 97%) is oil sands. Source: Petroleum Human Resources Council of Canada.

Safety | Industrial | Janitorial | Technical Services vallen.ca

CONGRATULATIONS ON 50 AMAZING YEARS

It is partners like Syncrude who inspire us to lead the way in customer

service, and we are honoured to provide them with everything they need

to keep their business going, and help make it even better.

Vallen: If you’re looking to create a safe, healthy and productive

workplace, we’ll help you work smart. From all of us to you,

congratulations on 50 amazing years, and more to come.

000SYN-CenturyVallen-FP.indd 1 2014-04-25 9:01 AM

businesses, which helps grow local success stories like Aboriginal-business legend Dave Tuccaro, who owns a group of companies including Neegan Technical Services Ltd.

Syncrude is also drawing on traditional land use knowledge from local Aboriginal elders as the company executes its reclamation projects, reintro-ducing indigenous and culturally important plants like ratroot, buffalo berry and low-bush cranberries to reclaimed landscapes.

“It’s just a good example of pulling the commu-nity together in a positive way to recognize that we can return the land we use to a very usable landscape for our stakeholders when we’re done,” Sullivan says. “Reclamation is a long-term process so working very closely with our Aboriginal stakeholders is quite important.”

Sullivan says that Syncrude’s philosophy of continuous investment in research and develop-ment allows the company to maintain its place as

a technology and operations leader. Right now, the company is investing about $3 billion in tailings management projects, including centrifuged, composite and water-capped tailings. Sullivan believes these investments will play a vital role in helping Syncrude meet its commitments to reducing its environmental impact, complying with Alberta’s Directive 74 on fine tailings capture, and accelerating the pace of reclamation. “It’s driven by our desire to continuously improve in every part of our business, including our environmental perfor-mance,” Sullivan says. “We’re spending $50 to $60 million per year in our own R&D initiatives here to help us continue that journey.”

As Sullivan calls it, the local oil sands company has grown up with Fort McMurray. Inspired by the success of its first 50 years, Syncrude will continue to improve and even grow. That’s a good thing for its owners, its partners and the people in the community who benefit from its work.


Safety | Industrial | Janitorial | Technical Services vallen.ca

CONGRATULATIONS ON 50 AMAZING YEARS

It is partners like Syncrude who inspire us to lead the way in customer

service, and we are honoured to provide them with everything they need

to keep their business going, and help make it even better.

Vallen: If you’re looking to create a safe, healthy and productive

workplace, we’ll help you work smart. From all of us to you,

congratulations on 50 amazing years, and more to come.

000SYN-CenturyVallen-FP.indd 1 2014-04-25 9:01 AMCornerstone_2014_p140-145.indd 145 2014-05-22 1:49 PM

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BY THE NUMBERS

Understanding early on that reclamation would be integral part of its operation, Syncrude commenced environmental baseline monitoring even before produc-tion. Working to ensure that reclaimed land would be as productive as it was prior to disturbance has paid off, as the company is now recognized as a leader in land reclamation. To date, Syncrude has permanently reclaimed over 3,300 hectares of land and planted more than seven million trees and shrubs.

Current reclamation projects include Syncrude’s former East Mine, an approximately 11.5-square-kilometre area bordered by Highway 63. Part of the original operation when Syncrude began production in 1978, reclama-tion began in 2000 using composite tailings technology.

SHOWING THE WAYEvery year, Syncrude produces Pathways, a publication that showcases the achieve-ments and successes and of local, provin-cial and national Aboriginal people. It also acts as an annual review of the company’s Aboriginal relations program. The maga-zine assesses the company on six commit-ment areas. It’s available at syncrude.ca

1964: Cities Service Athabasca Inc. – 30%Imperial Oil – 30%Richfield Oil Corp. – 30%Royalite Oil Co. Ltd. – 10%

1978: Province of Ontario – 5%Province of Alberta – 10%Government of Canada – 15%Gulf Oil Canada Ltd. – 16.75%Canada-Cities Service Ltd. – 22%Imperial Oil Limited – 31.25%

PARTICIPANTS IN THE SYNCRUDE JOINT VENTURE (2014): Mocal Energy Limited – 5%Murphy Oil Company Ltd. – 5%Nexen Oil Sands Partnership – 7.23%Sinopec Oil Sands Partnership – 9.03%Suncor Energy Ventures Partnership – 12%Imperial Oil Resources – 25%Canadian Oil Sands Partnership #1 – 36.74%

Syncrude employees have consistently set new record contributions to annual campaigns for United Way Fort McMurray. In 2013, they set yet another one, raising $2.46 million during the United Way Employee Campaign. The original goal was $2 million, and the record-setting amount included a $430,000 donation from Syncrude.

Over the past 16 years, Aboriginal-owned companies in the Wood Buffalo region have earned more than $6 billion in revenue. Source: OSDG 2012

Wood Buffalo and Lac La Biche Aboriginal- owned companies performed over $1 billion in contract work with OSDG members in 2011. Source: OSDG 2012

3,300 HECTARES OF LAND RECLAIMED

7 MILLION TREES AND SHRUBS PLANTED

1992: SYNCRUDE PLANTED ITS MILLIONTH TREE

Find out more at syncrudesustainability.com

SYNCRUDE OWNERSHIP: 1964-2014Syncrude’s joint venture owners have changed many times over its 50-year history. Shown here are the owners at its inception in 1964, when it com-menced production in 1978, and today.


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Cornerstone Syncrude 2014

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