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Increasing wildfires pose risk to Canadian oil production and climate stability

Increasing wildfires pose risk to Canadian oil production and climate stability

Canada’s oil-producing province of Alberta is currently battling wildfires that are threatening nearly 10% of the region’s oil production. According to news reports, this has led to the evacuation of one of the country’s largest national parks in the middle of the summer tourist season.

On Monday, residents of Jasper and Banff National Park were ordered to evacuate and drive west on Highway 16 toward neighboring British Columbia due to the threat of the Utopia Fire.

Recent warm weather has led to an increase in wildfires in Western Canada. There are 170 fires in Alberta alone, 53 of which are currently out of control.

Jasper, located just north of Banff National Park, has a population of about 4,000 but attracts millions of tourists each year.

Interestingly, the recently expanded Trans Mountain oil pipeline also runs through Jasper.

According to Alberta Wildfire geographic data and June production data from the Alberta Energy Regulator, approximately 388,000 barrels per day of oil and 13,400 barrels per day of natural gas are within 10 km of fires covering at least 10 hectares.

Alberta is experiencing another extremely dry wildfire season, the regulator said. Historically, most energy-related fires in Alberta occur from April through June. Crude oil production continued to climb in Canada in 2023, reaching an eight-year high. During the 2023 fire season in Alberta, about 61% of all wildfires were caused by human activities.

According to CBC NewsSuncor, Canada’s second-largest tar sands producer by volume, has temporarily halted production at its Firebag complex due to the fire risk.

Earlier this month, Hurricane Beryl temporarily shut down offshore oil platforms along the U.S. Gulf Coast, impacting one of North America’s most important areas for energy resources and infrastructure.

Altair Energy, a small oil and gas producer, was forced to close and evacuate its Charlie plant, north of Grande Prairie, after a wildfire destroyed the facility.

Wildfires are also raging near Fort McMurray, a major tar sands area in northern Alberta. Reuters reported that this region is responsible for about two-thirds of Canada’s daily production of about five million barrels of oil.