Flash: Oil Sites around Canada’s Fort McMurray Evacuated

By DarrenRD [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The reprieve was short-lived; wildfire is once again threatening key facilities around Canada’s Fort McMurray.

A shift in weather conditions has put oil sites north of Fort McMurray in the path of wildfires which have already caused billions in damage and forced the evacuation of over 80,000 residents just one week ago.

Fortunately, the city itself is safe for the most part due to the fact that most of the surrounding woodland has already been burnt to a crisp by Canada’s worst wildfire disaster in decades.

The evacuation order covers about 50km of area to the north of Fort McMurray, spanning to just south of Fort MacKay, and it includes 12 different facilities operated by Suncor and Syncrude. Over 8,000 workers have been relocated to sites further to the north so far, with no word as to when they will be able to return.

These latest evacuations will further impact production in Canada’s oil heartland. The fires have already taken nearly 1 million barrels per day (bpd) of capacity offline, and this latest turn back towards Fort McMurray caught many off guard.

Back to Top

Login

Lost your password?