CALGARY—Two major Canadian oil sands operators said Monday they
have resumed output at sites that had been shut down by a more than
two-week old wildfire in northern Alberta, which exports much of
its crude oil production to the U.S.
The blaze had shut-in nearly 10% of Canada's oil sands output,
or about 233,000 barrels a day, since it was first detected on May
22.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. said it expects to resume full
production later this week at its 80,000 barrel-per-day Primrose
site, which had been evacuated and shut down, and its 30,000
barrel-a-day Kirby South operation, which was forced to cut output
due to the temporary closure of a pipeline.
Cenovus Energy Inc. said it began ramping up production at its
135,000 barrel-per-day Foster Creek site over the weekend, but
didn't provide an estimate for when output levels would return to
normal.
Both companies' operations are located in the Cold Lake region,
which is about 300 kilometers (186 miles) northeast of the
provincial capital of Edmonton.
The oil sands wells are protected by nonflammable berms, but
they were affected by the precautionary closure of the sole access
road into the area, which is located on the grounds of a Canadian
military training facility.
"The access road is no longer as threatened as it was
previously," said Alberta Agriculture and Forestry spokesman
Geoffrey Driscoll, who added the Cold Lake wildfire is about 60%
contained but still classified as out of control.
About 343 firefighters are involved in efforts to douse or
control 36 wildfires in northern Alberta, four of which remain
uncontrolled as of Monday, Mr. Driscoll said.
Last week, some 1,400 firefighters were engaged at one point
across the province and the Cold Lake fire alone engulfed nearly
80,000 acres.
About two-thirds of Canadian oil production—most of which is
from Alberta's oil sands deposits—is exported to the U.S. The
wildfire-induced drop in output has eased pipeline capacity
constraints and helped narrow a price gap between West Texas
Intermediate and cheaper Western Canadian Select crude oils.
The affected Canadian Natural and Cenovus production sites are
located on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range, a 7,208-square-mile
restricted access facility that straddles the Alberta-Saskatchewan
border. The Royal Canadian Air Force describes Clawr as home to
"the only tactical bombing range in Canada."
Write to Chester Dawson at chester.dawson@wsj.com
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