Wildfire prompts MEG Energy to evacuate northern Alberta oilsands site

A wildfire burning in Alberta in 2023. (CTV News Edmonton)

Out-of-control wildfires blazing in northern Alberta have prompted fresh evacuations of workers from oilsands sites.

MEG Energy Corp. said late Wednesday evening that it is evacuating non-essential personnel from its Christina Lake oilsands site, while Imperial Oil Ltd. confirmed in an email Thursday that it has begun reducing the number of non-essential workers at its Kearl oilsands mine.

Both companies said there have been no direct impacts to their sites and the moves are precautionary.

“Our first operating priority is to care for ourselves and all others,” said MEG CEO Darlene Gates in a news release, adding production at the company's Christina Lake site continues as normal.

"Our focus is to minimize and mitigate any potential impact on our people and our operations."

MEG's Christina Lake site is located about 150 kilometres south of Fort McMurray in northeast Alberta, while Imperial's Kearl site is located 70 km north of Fort McMurray.

MEG's Christina Lake site has a current production capacity of about 110,000 barrels of oil per day, while Kearl has a production capacity of 220,000 barrels per day.

There are several wildfires currently burning in the Fort McMurray area, and Alberta Wildfire classifies the current wildfire danger in the area as "extreme."

The wildfire burning northeast of Fort McMurray was more than 1,000 square km in size and just 7 km away from "industrial sites," Alberta Wildfire said Thursday afternoon.

The fire detected Wednesday southwest of Fort McMurray was 150 square km in size as of Thursday afternoon and was just 11 km away from Highway 63, an important thoroughfare that connects the oilsands and the community of Fort McMurray to Edmonton.

Two weeks ago, Suncor Energy Inc. — Canada's second-largest oilsands producer by volume — evacuated non-essential personnel and curtailed production at its Firebag oilsands site north of Fort McMurray.

The company has not disclosed how much production has been taken offline. In the first quarter of 2024, before the curtailment, Firebag produced 229,000 barrels of oil per day.

The fires and the threat they pose to oilsands production have helped boost Canadian oil prices this week. Western Canada Select heavy crude was up $1.73 or 2.63 per cent on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 18, 2024.