Suncor Energy Inc. SU, Canada's premier integrated energy company, faced serious consequences for the 2019 incident that happened aboard the Terra Nova floating production storage and offloading vessel. An employee fell 7.6 meters from the ladder into the tank while conducting testing for hydrogen sulfide on board Terra Nova FPSO, leading to several injuries. The incident, which took place about 350 kilometers off the coast of Newfoundland, resulted in several proceedings and investigations against the company.

Terra Nova oil field, which holds strategic importance for the company, is located about 350 km southeast of St. John's, offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. Suncor has an operating interest of 48% in the Terra Nova oil field with partners like Cenovus holding 34% and Murphy Oil Corporation holding 18%.

Charges Laid and Fines Imposed on Suncor Energy

Suncor Energy was imposed with two charges by the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board(C-NLOPB), the province's oil industry regulator, to which the company pleaded guilty on Sept. 5.

The first charge was for failing to ensure the health and safety of workers onboard by ignoring the reasonable measures that should be taken. The second charge was for failing to ensure that all the workers wore safety harnesses while in a confined space.

C-NLOPB imposed the company with a fine of $45,000 for each charge, thereby, resulting in a total of $90,000 payment as fine. Additionally, the company has been ordered to pay $20,000 to the North Atlantic Health and Safety Management Program.

Suncor’s Safety Violations and Consequences

Following the incident, Leithan Slade, Suncor’s communication representative, had accepted the fact that they did not meet the safety requirements and therefore pled guilty. Without going into much detail, he also mentioned that the company is implementing safety practices and updated work plans to improve the safety measures in the confined spaces.

Preceding the abovementioned incident, the company was earlier ordered to stop the production of the defective fire-water pumps.

The Company’s failure to follow the various safety protocols justifies the need for stringent regulatory requirements and updated work plans.

SU’s Zacks Rank and Key Picks

Headquartered in Canada, Suncor Energy is one of the best-positioned companies in the energy space, given its access to abundant resources, rich operating experience and technical know-how, SU has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Investors interested in the energy sector might look at some better-ranked stocks like Royal VopakVOPKY, PEDEVCO Corp. PEDand Core Labs Inc. CLB. While Royal Vopak and PEDEVCO Corp. currently sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Core Labs Inc. carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here