Suncor Energy Inc. has announced that it will withhold major investments in securing additional bitumen supply for its Base Plant oilsands mine for the next five years. The company, based in Calgary, has been exploring options to maintain the supply of crude to its upgrading facilities north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, as the Base Plant mine is expected to be depleted by the mid-2030s. Suncor has proposed a new open-pit oilsands mine expansion with a capacity of 225,000 barrels per day, but the project’s regulatory approval is uncertain. Executives at Suncor stated that they are evaluating various options to secure alternative bitumen sources and emphasized that significant spending on this front should not be anticipated before the end of the decade.