Teck Resources Ltd. has withdrawn the Frontier oil sands project in northeastern Alberta from the regulatory review process. The $15 billion project would have produced 260,000 barrels of oil per day and 7,000 jobs.
“We are disappointed to have arrived at this point,” CEO and President Don Lindsay said in a letter to the minister of Environment and Climate Change. “Teck put forward a socially and environmentally responsible project that was industry leading and had the potential to create significant economic benefits for Canadians.”
He cited the growing debate around climate change and a framework that would address those concerns with resource development that would produce the “cleanest possible products.”
“This does not yet exist here today,” Lindsay said. He added that Frontier has been placed at the forefront of the issue and they do not see a “constructive path forward for the project.”
“It is our hope that withdrawing from the process will allow Canadians to shift to a larger and more positive discussion about the path forward,” he said. “Ultimately, that should take place without a looming regulatory deadline.”
He explained that resource development was important and is at the heart of the Canadian economy, however, there is a need to reduce global carbon emissions.
He said low-carbon energy can be produced from the Alberta oil sands from projects like Frontier, by using best-in-class technology, “which would displace less environmentally and ethically sound oil sources.”
“It is our hope that the decision to withdraw will help to create both the space and impetus needed for this critical discussion to take place for the benefit of all Canadians,” Lindsay said.
As a result of this decision, Teck will write down the $1.13 billion carrying value of the Frontier Project.
