Fort Hill delays not as long as feared, executive says

Delays at the proposed Fort Hills oil sands mine may not be as long as feared, after a Suncor Energy Inc. executive says he misspoke at a conference two days ago. Suncor expects to detail its Fort Hills plans later in 2010, not 2011, John Rogers, the company's vice-president of investor relations said yesterday. He corrected a remark he made at a BMO conference in New York on Tuesday, when he said details would come "later next year." Suncor owns 60 per cent of Fort Hills; UTS Energy Corp. and Teck Resources Ltd. share the remainder. Suncor said it is recosting and rescheduling Fort Hills, which did not meet its economic thresholds when it took over the project through its merger with Petro-Canada. UTS chief executive Will Roach said his company expects "to work closely with Suncor and Teck on this re-evaluation over the course of the year." SU (TSX) fell 19¢ to $37.68.