Suncor's Syrian Plant Still Running Despite Unrest

CEO says no money they make is going to the Assad regime, even if his explanation isn't all the convincing.

Suncor CEO Rick George took to CBC Radio to explain his company's ongoing operations in Syria, where the Canadian energy giant provides electricity to about 10 per cent of the country's homes. George said that none of the money they make in Syria is going to the Assad regime, which is responsible for killing nearly 2,000 protesters and imprisoning thousands more in the last few months, and that all business is conducted through the state-run (and super evil-sounding) General Petroleum Corporation, or GPC. Which leads us to think that if Suncor is working with a state-run energy firm, and that state is run by one of the world's more brutal dictators, then Suncor is at least indirectly tied to the Assad regime, despite George's assurances to the opposite. Regardless, the Suncor natural gas plant in Syria has been chugging along despite the unrest and sanctions, and they've definitely earned some goodwill by keeping the lights on for a tenth of the country's population. We'd just appreciate a more thorough accounting of Suncor's relationship with GPC and in turn, GPC's affiliation with the Assads.