Energy
Monday, July 8th, 2024 5:16 pm EDT
Key Points
- Suncor Energy has closed its Firebag oil sands site in Northern Alberta, which has a production capacity of 215,000 barrels per day, due to its proximity to a wildfire located approximately eight kilometers away.
- The shutdown, initiated as a precautionary measure, has led Suncor to retain only essential personnel at the facility, situated about 100 kilometers northeast of Fort McMurray, a central hub for Alberta’s oil sands.
- Despite the shutdown, Suncor has not confirmed whether production as the Firebag oil site has been directly impacted. The company has reassured that there is no immediate risk to its other operations or the Firebag airport at this time, while emphasizing ongoing monitoring and readiness by its emergency-response team.
The Globe and Mail reports in its Friday edition that Suncor Energy has shut down its 215,000-barrel-a-day Firebag oil sands site in Northern Alberta as a precaution owing to a wildfire about eight kilometres away. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that Suncor said it was keeping only essential workers at the facility, which lies roughly 100 kilometres northeast of the oil sands hub of Fort McMurray. The company declined to comment on whether Firebag production had been affected. “An emergency-response team is monitoring the situation closely and prepared to take further action if necessary,” Suncor said in a statement. “There is no risk to our other operations or the Firebag airport at this time.” Alberta’s Minister of Forestry and Parks, Todd Loewen, said Firebag had been shut down on Wednesday night out of caution. There are more than 60 fires across Alberta and officials have rated the danger in the province’s north as very high to extreme. Weather forecasts show an extended period of hot weather will settle over Western Canada in the coming days, with temperatures expected to exceed 30 C by next week. More than two-thirds of Canada’s five million barrels per day of crude comes from Alberta’s oil sands.
