Suncor getting back on track

New management looks to focus on oil sands firm’s core upstream and downstream business

Calgary-based Suncor Energy has undergone big changes since coming under siege by Elliott Investment Management in April 2022, having conceded to most demands of the US activist investor to unlock greater value for its long-suffering shareholders—including significant acquisition and disposition activity. Over the past five years, Suncor has lagged the TSX energy index by almost 40pc. Elliott had criticised Suncor’s management for years for missed oil sands production targets, high costs, a lack of asset focus, and employee fatalities and safety concerns—all stemming from what it said was “a slow-moving, overly bureaucratic corporate culture”. But Suncor appears to have turned the corner, ac