Mandatory Evacuations Lifted on Oil Sands Operations in Alberta

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Canada's province of Alberta has removed evacuation orders for oil sands companies that previously were threatened by wildfires.

Cool, humid weather has kept the blaze in check and has allowed forestry and health officials to access the safety of the sites prior to employees returning, according to Bloomberg. The fire has been spreading since early this month, causing the evacuation of more than 80,000 people and more than 1 million barrels of oil per day (BBL/d) to go offline. It has forced workers to leave operations owned by companies such as Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) (Calgary, Alberta), ConocoPhillips Company (NYSE:COP) (Houston, Texas) and Syncrude (Fort McMurray). For more information, see May 17, 2016, article - Alberta Wildfire Shifts North, Forces Oil Sands Producers to Re-evacuate.

Suncor, one of the more vocal companies regarding the effects and management of the blaze, said it has started moving workers for a phased restart of operations in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Mentioning that there was no damage to its assets, the company had cleared out its base plant operations as well as its Firebag Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage (SAGD) bitumen production plant. Construction activities were also ramping up at the firm's Fort Hills mining project over the weekend, Suncor said.

ConocoPhillips, which shut down production at its Surmont plant south of Fort McMurray May 5, has begun the process of bringing its employees back to work Monday, according to Bloomberg. However, no estimated date for the restart of production is known.

Syncrude, a Suncor-controlled joint venture, which evacuated its staff from its Mildred Lake and Aurora mines, said it is in the process of developing a plan to return to operations, according to news reports.

The Alberta fires have also impacted supplies for refineries outside the fire-stricken region. Industrial Info has learned Suncor was pushing to accelerate the completion of planned maintenance at its Montreal refinery to May 22 from May 29 due to the fires' impact on other facilities. Following the completion, Suncor plans to operate the refinery at 20% reduced rates due to interrupted supplies from Alberta.

Industrial Info also reports production at Suncor's 135,000 barrel-per-day (BBL/d) Edmonton, Alberta refinery was slightly affected due to the ongoing wildfires in Alberta and is currently running at an estimated 20% below normal levels.

Husky Energy (Calgary, Alberta) will run its 11,000 BBL/d Prince George Refinery in British Columbia at 10% reduced rates as a result of wildfires, Industrial Info has learned, following the completion of planned maintenance on May 31. The completion was moved back from May 23.

Imperial Oil Limited's (NYSE:IMO) (London, Ontario) also will run units at its Strathcona Refinery in Edmonton at 20% reduced rates due to the fires, following the planned completion of maintenance by June 5, according to an Industrial Info alert.

Alberta officials said Tuesday there were still 17 ongoing wildfires in the province.

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