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CALGARY, ALBERTA -- (Marketwire) -- 12/11/11 -- Suncor Energy reported today that it has declared force majeure under its contractual obligations and is suspending its operations with the General Petroleum Corporation (GPC) in Syria. These actions are taken as a result of sanctions on Syria announced by the European Union on Dec. 2, 2011.
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.
"We've been monitoring developments in the region very closely during the last several months, and we've always been clear that we would comply with all relevant sanctions imposed on the country," said Rick George, chief executive officer. "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."
Management is not changing total production guidance (2011 or 2012) because Libyan production is ramping up and was not included in the existing guidance. For a copy of Suncor's detailed guidance, please see www.suncor.com/guidance.
For background information on Suncor's business in Syria, and how the company has dealt with the unrest in the country to date, please visit http://response.suncor.com/suncor-syria-operations/.
Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All forward-looking statements are based on Suncor's current expectations, estimates, projections, beliefs and assumptions based on information available at the time the statement was made and in light of Suncor's experience and its perception of historical trends.
Some of the forward-looking statements may be identified by words like "expected," "targets," "schedule," and similar expressions.