A pedestrian is reflected in a Suncor Energy sign in Calgary, Monday, Feb. 1, 2010. Suncor has named Mark Little as Chief Operating Officer.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
Suncor Energy Inc. has named Mark Little as chief operating officer, elevating him to the No. 2 job at the oil sands producer.
Calgary-based Suncor said in a release on Thursday the appointment is effective Dec. 1. Mr. Little is currently president of upstream operations at the company, which is led by chief executive officer Steve Williams. Chief operating officer is a newly created role at Suncor.
Mr. Little had been rumoured as a possible candidate to replace Brian Ferguson as chief executive at rival Cenovus Energy Inc. Last month, Cenovus named one-time TransCanada Corp. executive Alex Pourbaix to the role. Mr. Little's promotion "is about the continued development of an already strong leadership team at the company," said Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal.
In a separate shakeup, Suncor also parted ways this week with Mark Becker, vice-president of oil sands ventures and Fort Hills, its $17-billion mining venture with Total SA and Teck Resources Ltd.
The 194,000-barrel-a-day project is due to pump its first oil later this year, but it has faced snags including a commercial dispute with Total over costs.
Suncor has also launched a $180-million lawsuit over alleged defects to a fire-protection system at the development.