Syncrude agrees to creative sentence

Funding to support waterfowl initiatives

FORT MCMURRAY, AB, Oct. 22 /CNW/ - Syncrude presented a joint submission with federal and provincial Crown prosecutors today on a creative sentence, following guilty verdicts on both counts related to the April 2008 waterfowl incident.

"The public expects better from a leader in the oil sands, as do we," said President and CEO Scott Sullivan. "We sincerely regret what occurred and have made changes to our waterfowl protection system. This sentence reflects the seriousness of what occurred."

The creative sentence reached with federal and provincial Crown prosecutors and approved by the Court, results in Syncrude paying $3 million. This includes more than $2 million to support three environmental initiatives, plus fines levied by the Canadian and Alberta governments:

• $1.3 million for a multi-year research project to study migratory bird populations in the region and the effectiveness of bird deterrent technologies. A five member advisory team will oversee the research conducted by the University of Alberta.
• $900,000 towards a habitat conservation project at the Golden Ranches property in the Cooking Lake Moraine area. This wetland area is a key stopover point during migration for waterfowl and shorebirds.
• $250,000 for Keyano College to develop the Wildlife Management Technical Diploma Program, focused on Aboriginal students.

"By agreeing to a creative sentence with the Crown prosecutors that is acceptable to the court, Syncrude is now able to contribute significant funding for important initiatives involving waterfowl," said Sullivan. "It furthers our commitment to continue learning from what happened and maintain our focus to always improve."

The death of the birds remains a sad day in the organization's history. Changes to the waterfowl protection program are outlined at www.Syncrude.ca.

The Syncrude Project is a Joint Venture undertaking among Canadian Oil Sands Limited, Imperial Oil Resources, Mocal Energy Limited, Murphy Oil Company Ltd., Nexen Oil Sands Partnership, Sinopec Oil Sands Partnership, and Suncor Energy Oil and Gas Partnership.

For further information:

Cheryl Robb 780-970-6923 or Syncrude's website atwww.syncrude.ca