Raging wildfires in Canada could shave off 0.1%-0.3% of the country’s real gross domestic production this month, according to an estimate from ATB Financial.
The number of wildfires grew on Friday, to 93 distinct fires, with out-of-control blazes falling by 1 to 25, according to provincial data.
The current hit to the country’s crude oil production is estimated at between 240,000 and 300,000 barrels per day, according to Rystad estimates. Rystad Energy warned previously that nearly 2.7 million barrels per day of Alberta oil sands production is in “very high” or “extreme” wildfire danger rating zones in the month of May.
The fires have centered in the gas-centric region of western Alberta, with a few fires in oilsands areas. A half-hectare blaze that is out of control ripped through Connacher Oil & Gas’s Great Divide oilsands side yesterday afternoon. On Tuesday, Chevron Canada shut in all Kaybob Duvernay production. Meanwhile, ConocoPhillips said it had removed non-essential workers from its Surmont oilsands site due to a nearby wildfire—it later said it was in the process of returning those workers.
Athabasca Oil shut in two facilities, Obsidian Energy took its Seal, Walrus, Peace River Harmon Valley South, and Nampa fields offline, and Whitecap Resources shut in 26,000 boepd.
Early last week, the wildfires in Canada resulted in the shut-in of a total of 319,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) from the country’s oil and natural gas production or 3.7% of all output.
Canada’s wildfire season is particularly active this year, burning through 150 times more area in Alberta last week than in the last five years combined, according to CNN.
The smoke from the wildfires is wafting into the United States, sending Denver to the top of the list for worst air quality in the world.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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