- Fires burn close to 388,000 barrels a day of oil production
- Jasper National Park is evacuated due to wildfire threat
Wildfires in Canada’s energy-producing Alberta province are threatening almost 10% of the region’s oil production and forcing the evacuation of one of the country’s largest national parks during the peak summer tourist season.
Hot weather has contributed to a wildfire outbreak in Western Canada, with 170 burning in Alberta alone — 53 of them out of control. The equivalent of about 388,000 barrels a day of oil output and 13,400 barrels a day of natural gas are within 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) of blazes that are at least 10 hectares (25 acres) in size, according to Alberta Wildfire geographic data and Alberta Energy Regulator June production data.
Alberta Oil Production Threatened by Forest Fires
Oil and gas output within 10 kilometers of out-of-control fires
Source: Alberta Energy Regulator June data, Alberta Wildfire
Note: Sunshine Oilsands Ltd. is near a blaze but recorded no production in June
The situation also endangers tourism in the Canadian Rockies, with a fire prompting the evacuation of the scenic Jasper National Park late Monday, a place that attracts millions of tourists a year who come to see the mountains, glaciers and abundant wildlife. Several other rural communities in Alberta are also under evacuation orders for a total of about 17,500 people who have left their homes due to blazes, Mike Ellis, Alberta’s minister of public safety and emergency services, said in a video update.
Read More: Canada’s Jasper National Park Is Evacuated Amid Wildfire Threat
Earlier this month, Suncor Energy Inc. curtailed output from its Firebag oil sands well site northeast of Fort McMurray, which produced more than 230,000 barrels of crude a day in June. Junior oil and gas producer Altair Energy was forced to shut and evacuate its Charlie site north of Grande Prairie, when a wildfire overran the facility.
Alberta Wildfires Threaten Oil Producers
Out-of-control blazes are near sites that produced 388,000 barrels a day in June
Source: Alberta Wildfire, Alberta Energy Regulator
Note: Oil and gas sites listed on map are those within 6.2 miles of wildfires that are at least 25 acres in size
MEG Energy Corp. has evacuated some workers from its Christina Lake oil sands site and Cenovus Energy Inc. has removed some workers from its Sunrise facility. Imperial Oil Ltd. has also evacuated some staff from its Kearl oil sands mine.
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