Suncor announces withdrawal from Syria amid sanctions
Posted December 11, 2011 1:01 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Canadian oil giant Suncor Energy Inc. is suspending its operations in Syria following the imposition of economic sanctions against the regime of President Bashar Assad, the company announced Sunday.
Pressure had been mounting on the Calgary-based Suncor to pull out of the country since new international sanctions took effect earlier this month.
“The company is working through a plan to safely withdraw its expatriates while retaining its Syrian employees and determining how we can best support Syrian employees during this extremely difficult time for their country,” Suncor said.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said only last week that it would hurt ordinary Syrians to have Suncor stop operations.
“The current situation in Syria is very concerning, and our thoughts are with the Syrian people as we hope for a return to peace as soon as possible,” said CEO Rick George.
He added that Suncor had always been clear that the company would comply with all relevant sanctions imposed on the country.
Suncor is still known in Syria by the name Petro-Canada and was working jointly with the General Petroleum Corp.
The company said it would not change its production guidance for this year and next as output in Libya was rising. The Libyan production was not included in the existing guidance, it said.
The United Nations says more than 4,000 people have been killed in the nine-month-old uprising against Assad.
