Some oilsands producers are removing workers and shutting production from their sites as wildfires rage in northeastern Alberta.
Cenovus Energy Inc. said Sunday only essential personnel are left at its Christina Lake oilsands operations south of Fort McMurray, Alta. It began shutting down production from the steam-driven project on Thursday and about 238,000 barrels of oil a day are now off-line, reports The Canadian Press.
“Based on the inspections the company has completed to date, it is not aware of any damage to its infrastructure and would anticipate a full restart of Christina Lake operations in the near term,” the Calgary-based producer said in a release.
So far, wildfires have shut in nearly 350,000 barrels per day of heavy crude production—about 7% of Canada’s output, Bloomberg News reported.
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. said on Saturday that its Jackfish 1 site has been evacuated and that 36,500 barrels a day have been shut in.
“All workers are safe and accounted for with no reported injuries and have been relocated to other facilities in our thermal in situ operations,” the company said in a notice on its website.
“Canadian Natural is working together with local authorities to ensure the safe and orderly movement of people through the area, including providing support for first responders and community members.”
MEG Energy has only critical operating staff on site at its Christina Lake operations. The fires caused an outage to a utility’s power line connected to the site, but it’s able to keep running its production thanks to cogeneration capabilities.
The power outage has, however, delayed startup of a section of Christina Lake that had been down for maintenance.
“The safety of our people and protection of our assets remain our top priorities, and there is no immediate risk to either,” said chief executive Darlene Gates in a news release Saturday.
“We are working closely with authorities and co-ordinating with our industry peers to support each other and resume normal operations.”
The Alberta government says there are currently 49 active wildfires in the province, half of which are out of control. So far, more than 4,800 square kilometres have burned.
The fire affecting the oilsands operators, dubbed the Caribou Lake Fire, is estimated at 615 square kilometres and remains out of control as of Monday.
Thousands have been forced from their homes across the Prairies as hot, dry conditions have helped flames quickly spread.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 2, 2025.
