The government of Alberta has approved Suncor Energy’s Meadow Creek West project in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, approximately 40 kilometres south of Fort McMurray.

The government’s approval allows Suncor to proceed to the next stage of development, including making a final investment decision and applying for other environmental licences and local area development permits.

The development plans were previously approved by the Alberta Energy Regulator.

The project will extract bitumen using steam-assisted gravity drainage and is expected to produce about 40,000 barrels of bitumen per day. Construction of the project will create an estimated 3,200 jobs and 200 jobs once it is operational.

Sonya Savage, Minister of Energy, commented on the approval, “Enabling projects like Meadow Creek West demonstrates our commitment to encouraging investment and creating good-paying jobs in our province.”