Training and Capacity Building

We create employment opportunities and enhance capacity in local Aboriginal communities to increase benefits from oil sands development. Examples of this work include the following:

• We provided funding for Aboriginal students from the rural communities in the vicinity of Surmont to attend Keyano College.
• We work with the Northern Alberta Aboriginal Business Association to increase the opportunities for Aboriginal contractors to access contracting and subcontracting opportunities in the oil sands.
• We work with the Fort McMurray Chamber of Commerce and Fort McMurray Construction Association to increase the opportunities for local and regional contractors to access contracting and subcontracting opportunities.
• We offer the Junior Operators Program at Surmont. It is designed to provide on-the-job training, assisting workers in preparing for Class 3 and 4 apprenticeship qualification. In 2008, four Aboriginal workers completed the program and were hired full-time at Surmont.

Local Benefits

ConocoPhillips Canada places a high priority on purchasing goods and services locally and provides local and Aboriginal contractors and suppliers the opportunity to participate in projects through a competitive bid process. This process assesses several criteria to award work, specifically safety performance, competitiveness, ability to execute the program and local content.

• Our contractor selection process prefers companies that use Aboriginal, local or regional contractors and provide apprenticeships and training for members of our local communities.
• While our near-term focus is on the construction of Surmont Phase 2, we are trying to develop opportunities that will persist beyond construction throughout the 40-plus year operational life of the project.
• Our Stakeholder Engagement team continues to work with Aboriginal, local and regional communities to build capacity and benefits. This includes providing key certification courses, such as becoming fully compliant with industry safety standards. We also introduce our stakeholders to potential business associates such as other local or Aboriginal owners who can complement their business.
• More than $60 million was spent on Aboriginal, local and regional businesses and services provided by Aboriginal contractors throughout the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo during the development and construction of Surmont Phase 1.
• For Surmont Phase 2, we plan to spend a minimum of $175 million on services provided by Aboriginal, local and regional businesses and contractors during the five-year construction phase of project execution. These opportunities, with the construction of the central processing facility, such as local contracts for clearing, grubbing, earthworks equipment and operators, services such as water, vac trucking, freight, training, camp catering and supplies, and site-wide services and maintenance expertise.

We work with Aboriginal, local and regional contractors, as well as First Nation and Métis communities, to foster understanding of the opportunities that are available at Surmont both in the short and long-term. Additionally, we are developing enhanced programs that focus on capacity building to assist community-based businesses in their efforts to become competitive.