• Crude oil shipments were a record 87.2 million barrels (238,000 barrels per day), up 12.8 per cent from 2003, as the plant experienced steady, reliable operations and no major maintenance turnarounds.

• Prices for Syncrude Sweet Blend averaged $52.36 Cdn per barrel at the plant gate, an increase of $9.54 per barrel from 2003. Total pro-forma revenue was a record $4.57 billion.

• Total operating costs were $1,623 million or $18.61 per barrel, $6 million lower than the previous year due to higher production and lower overburden removal and catalyst costs, partially offset by higher purchased energy and corporate Administration/Research costs.

• Operating netbacks reached a record $33.23 per barrel compared with $21.32 per barrel in 2003. Over the past four years, Syncrude has on average generated higher operating netbacks than Canadian oil and gas producers.

• Record capital expenditures of $2,749 million were fully funded by pro-forma cash flow. These expenditures were focused on production growth and cost reduction initiatives. Syncrude’s Upgrader expansion project was 75 per cent complete at year-end.

• Pro-forma return on total capital employed (ROCE), averaged 20.1 per cent, including $6.2 billion of capital investment in facilities that have not yet commenced operation.

• Procurement of goods and services reached $3.4 billion, not including purchased energy.

• Business volume with Edmonton area companies was $1.4 billion while business with Wood Buffalo firms was $1.2 billion. Business with other Alberta firms totalled a further $710 million.

• Memoranda of Understanding were developed with three First Nations to formalize a framework for sharing Traditional Environmental Knowledge between the First Nations and Syncrude.

• $699,700 in employee and corporate donations were made to the United Way, a new record.

• Ten meetings and six reclamation site tours were held with Elders from regional Aboriginal communities; they helped increase Syncrude’s understanding of the environmental concerns of Elders.

• Environmental stewardship meetings were held with the Industry Relations Corporations from Fort McKay, Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation.

• A student literacy project implemented in Fort McKay with support from Syncrude showed measurable improvement in the reading comprehension levels of students in grades one through four.

• $800,000 in Syncrude support for the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre will help purchase medical equipment.

• A strategic review of Syncrude’s Aboriginal Development Program was commissioned. The review will assess the program’s effectiveness in meeting the needs of the Aboriginal people of the Wood Buffalo region.

• Stakeholder concerns about Syncrude’s research trial for in-ground sulphur storage were eased when Syncrude provided additional information about the trial’s scope and purpose; consultation is ongoing as the project continues.

• 383 people were hired as new Syncrude employees; total attrition was 5.4 percent, including retirements.

• Syncrude’s biennial employee survey showed that three-quarters of employees have a high level of satisfaction with Syncrude as their employer.

• Ethics reporting procedures were enhanced. Employees can now access a toll-free telephone hotline and send anonymous messages via mail and electronic mail in addition to other established processes.

• 17 workers sustained lost-time injuries averaging 1.98 lost workdays. Syncrude and its contractors achieved a combined lost time injury frequency of 0.11 per hundred person years worked, 1. 25th the Alberta average rate.

• A new standard for worker alcohol and drug screening was implemented. All new workers must now successfully complete an alcohol and drug screening test prior to their deployment on Syncrude sites.

• Twenty-four firefighters from Syncrude and other partners in the Wood Buffalo region’s mutual aid agreement were certified as dangerous goods technicians thanks to specialized training they received in 2004.

• Alberta regulators approved Syncrude’s Emission Reduction Project, which will commence operation in 2009. The project will help Syncrude reduce total sulphur emissions by 60 per cent from current levels, and also will reduce emissions of particulate matter.

• The Human Exposure Monitoring Program was expanded. Residents from several Wood Buffalo communities are being studied over a period of six years to determine their exposure to indoor and outdoor airborne contaminants.

• A comprehensive and auditable system for reporting greenhouse gas emissions from the oil sands and heavy oil upgrading industry was established by Syncrude and others. The new system is an industry best practice.

• Syncrude’s total water withdrawals from the Athabasca River, at 30.6 million cubic metres, comprised Syncrude’s lowest withdrawal since 1990. New conservation measures continue to be identified.

• A total of 653 hectares of land were reclaimed, bringing to 4,055 hectares the total of land reclaimed since 1978.

• Syncrude’s Watershed Research Program was recognized for design excellence. The research will help ensure the long-term success of Syncrude’s reconstructed landforms.