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Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU) said Thursday it has withdrawn all non-essential workers from its Firebag oil sands site as a precaution due to out-of-control wildfires in northern Alberta.
The facility produces up to 215,000 barrels per day Oil, and employs a fly-in, fly-out workforce from across Canada; the company website says the site typically has about 400 people on a daily basis.
The Alberta government said Thursday that the fire broke out about 8 kilometers northeast of Suncor’s (SU) Firebag main plant, 14 kilometers northeast of Firebag Airport and 16 kilometers east of Imperial Oil Corp.’s (IMO) Kearl oil sands facility.
Suncor Corp. (SU) said its other oil sands operations are not at risk, and Imperial Oil Corp. (IMO) and Cenovus Energy (CVE), whose Sunrise facility is in the south, said their operations have not been affected so far.
Canada’s wildfire season has so far been much calmer than last year, but large swathes of western Canada remain unusually dry due to an ongoing drought that tends to peak in July and August.
