CALGARY — Suncor’s exports of refined products are up 80 per cent so far this year as the oilsands giant finds unconventional ways to deliver fuel to thirsty markets around the globe facing supply disruptions from Russia and the Middle East.
“This has been a really fun area,” chief executive officer Rich Kruger told analysts on a conference call Wednesday to discuss third-quarter results.
In the past, looking to sell products like diesel and jet fuel internationally was seen as a “last resort,” he added.
“You get your barrel there because you don’t have a better home for it. Those markets now have been particularly valuable because of acute shortages.”
Suncor has access to nine time charters, an arrangement where a ship can be leased for a set period, said Dave Oldreive, Suncor’s vice-president in charge of the company’s refining and sales segments. They can be used to transport crude, or high-demand products made from it.
Rates were locked in before a recent spike in global freight costs, which has been one driver behind a widening in the discount on Canadian heavy oil.
“We’re seeing massive savings relative to current spot freight rates,” Oldreive said.
Kruger said the time-charter arrangements will be in place “well into next year,” though the exact terms can’t be divulged because they’re proprietary.
“Sometimes we’d rather be lucky than good,” he said. “We took a lot of these actions not anticipating the unique benefits we see now, but they have been extremely valuable for us. And I think in the quarters ahead, they’re going to continue to be.”
In addition to the West Coast, Suncor has also found ways to serve “niche markets” via the East Coast, like Scandinavia and Iceland. Product has also found eager buyers in Central America, Oldreive added.
Year-to-date, Suncor has been able to export 75,000 barrels a day of refined product. Total refined product sales in the third quarter hit a record 677,000 barrels a day, up from 647,000 barrels a day in the same period a year earlier.
Last month, Suncor announced a deal to sell its interest in three oil developments off the shores of Newfoundland for $1.2 billion to U.K.-based Ithaca Energy PLC as it focuses more of its capital and attention on its core oilsands business.
“These assets — certainly of value — frankly were not in that family photo,” Kruger said of its stakes in Terra Nova, White Rose and West White Rose.
“In Ithaca, we found a buyer whose strategy and core competency is aligned with these assets and consequently was willing to pay us accordingly — win-win for both parties.”
Suncor does still maintain some presence off the East Coast, choosing to keep its non-operated interests in the Hebron and Hibernia fields. ExxonMobil Canada operates Hebron and is lead owner in Hibernia.
“A big part of who’s in the family photo and how close you snuggle up to me and my wife is, what do you bring to the party? And can we add value to what you do?” Kruger said.
“Hebron and Hibernia bring a lot to the party: their longer life, their stable operation, a rock-solid operator who knows how to operate in the offshore quite well. Fundamentally, we cash dividend cheques each month from them and they run it really well.”
Late Tuesday, Suncor reported net earnings of $3.8 billion during the third quarter, up from $1.6 billion during the same period last year.
On a per share basis, its profit amounted to $3.27, compared with $1.34 during the prior-year quarter.
Adjusted operating earnings, which Suncor considers a better gauge of its underlying performance because it filters out the effects of unusual items, were $4.6 billion, or $3.97 per share.
That’s up from last year’s third quarter, when Suncor had adjusted operating earnings of $1.8 billion, or $1.48 per share.
Total upstream production was 852,500 barrels per day in the third quarter, down year-over-year from 870,000
Subsequent to its third quarter, Suncor’s board of directors approved a dividend increase of 10 per cent to 66 cents per common share.
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Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 4, 2026.
