Charles Ruigrok

CEO, Syncrude Canada Ltd.

Oilsands contribute more than $4 billion a year to Alberta's economy and one of the individuals posting all those zeros is Charles Ruigrok, the CEO of Syncrude, which racked up 82 million barrels of light sweet crude in 2004. Ruigrok may have only been appointed to the post in 2003, but he's been an important lynchpin in the oil business for years. The former project engineer came to Syncrude from Imperial Oil Resources, where he was vice-president, Oil Sands Development Research. At Imperial, he was responsible for the company's extensive oilsands development in Alberta, including Imperial's 25% interest in Syncrude, a joint venture owned by several oil and gas companies. Few know the ins and outs of the oilsands better than Ruigrok, and he's become a kind of international ambassador - not to mention an investment promoter - for this vast, unique resource. In February 2005, at the invitation of Canadian Consul General Pamela Wallin, Ruigrok spoke to Wall Street, extolling the technical strides oilsands companies such as Syncrude have made in both lowering the costs of extraction and reducing environmental impacts. With the oilsands needing a conservatively estimated $5 billion in annual investments to the end of the decade, Ruigrok's sway will be one of the keys to raising it. - AD

Should the Chinese be allowed to buy Canadian oilsands companies, or just the oil they produce?
I'm a strong believer in allowing market forces to work when it comes to these types of issues. Clearly it is in the interest of our industry to have additional outlets for our crude oil production.

Who do you think is the greatest Albertan ever?
That's a difficult question to answer. There are many who have made significant contributions to the province we live in today. This includes political figures like Grant MacEwan and Peter Lougheed. When I think about the oilsands business, Dr. Karl Clark was a key innovator in developing extraction technology that continues to be used today.

In 100 years you will warrant your own chapter in the history books, a footnote to great events or a single Google hit?
I would prefer to think about the legacy that Syncrude and its employees will leave behind - as a pioneer in the oilsands industry that helped develop this great opportunity that benefits all Albertans, and our fellow Canadians, today.