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Blazes threaten more than 400,000 barrels a day of oil production
Bloomberg News
Wildfires in Alberta caused the evacuation of some parts of Fort McMurray in mid-May. A new bout of hot weather has inflamed fire activity in recent weeks, with more than 50 out-of-control blazes burning in the province currently. PHOTO BY AFP PHOTO / HANDOUT / KOSAR
Hot and dry weather is spawning dozens of new wildfires across Alberta, with blazes threatening more than 400,000 barrels a day of Canada’s oil production.
In the past 24 hours, 47 new fires emerged in the province, most of them south of the unofficial oilsands capital of Fort McMurray, said Kai Bowering, spokeswoman for Alberta Wildfire. The arid conditions are expected to persist for the next 24 hours, making it easier for the blazes to spread, she said.
Wildfires in Alberta this year have reduced production from the oilsands — the world’s third-largest crude reserves — and forced a partial evacuation of Fort McMurray in May. A new bout of hot weather has inflamed fire activity in recent weeks, with more than 50 out-of-control blazes burning in the province currently.
One three-hectare fire is within about 10 kilometres of MEG Energy Corp.’s Christina Lake site, which produced almost 100,000 barrels a day in May, according to Alberta Energy Regulator data. Another blaze is within 10 kilometres of a section of Imperial Oil Ltd.’s Cold Lake operation that produces 19,000 barrels per day, and a third is close to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.’s Kirby oilsands. Emails to all three companies weren’t immediately returned.
The fires helped boost Canadian heavy crude prices. Western Canadian Select’s discount to benchmark West Texas Intermediate narrowed to US$13.10 a barrel on Wednesday from US$14 a barrel on Tuesday, according to a person familiar with prices.
Suncor Energy Inc. curtailed production from its Firebag site two weeks ago, reducing output from a facility that produced about 231,000 barrels a day in May. The same blaze prompted Cenovus Energy Inc. to demobilize some workers from its Sunrise oilsands site and Imperial Oil to begin removing non-essential workers from its Kearl oilsands mine.
Temperatures as high as 32C Wednesday, low relative humidity and winds gusting up to 30 kilometres an hour in northeastern Alberta may contribute to “extreme fire behaviour” lasting for the next few days, Alberta Wildfire said in an update.
The fire affecting Suncor, Cenovus and Imperial has moved closer to the production sites in recent days, as has an out-of-control wildfire about 9 kilometres to the south. Fires southwest of Fort McMurray have also affected production. Greenfire Resources Ltd. last weekend temporarily curtailed output from its Hangingstone sites, which produces about 23,000 barrels a day.
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