Varcoe: 'All fingers on deck' as oilpatch closes services, shuts in manufacturing amid wildfire disaster

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The wildfires that triggered the evacuation of practically 30,000 Albertans from their properties over the weekend additionally left Canadian petroleum producers hustling to shut down services, relocate employees to security and shut in 1000’s of barrels of oil and gasoline manufacturing.

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Over the weekend and on Monday, a collection of oil and pure gasoline producers — together with Cenovus Power, Tourmaline Oil Corp., Vermilion Power, Crescent Level Power, NuVista Power and Paramount Assets — introduced they’ve shut in output from varied websites throughout central and northern Alberta.

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There have been 90 energetic wildfires in Alberta as of Monday afternoon, together with 25 deemed uncontrolled, whereas 29,000 individuals have been evacuated from their properties, the provincial authorities reported.

Over the weekend, petroleum producers curtailed output and halted drilling in some areas because of issues surrounding the wildfires, though rain and cooler climate have been serving to the scenario on Monday.

“It’s nonetheless a severe scenario. We’ve acquired three rigs right here which have been evacuated and 4 rigs on standby, and we’re monitoring the scenario,” Ensign Power Companies president Bob Geddes mentioned in an interview.

“On Saturday, we had three of the crews — three of the rigs — the place forestry (officers) got here in and advised us, ‘Hey guys, it’s time to get out.’ ”

Ensign’s rigs have been drilling within the Brazeau County and Edson areas, areas the place necessary evacuation orders had been issued, though they have been lifted for the city of Edson on Monday morning.

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“A few of the fires acquired very near the rigs . . . There have been some perimeter camps and well-site shacks which have been burned, however nothing on the rigs,” Geddes added.

“Issues appear to be settling down a bit of bit. As you realize, it will probably change. However it’s cooler on the market and it’s not as windy.”

The vitality trade, like municipal and provincial governments, does have expertise coping with weather-related emergencies, together with the 2013 floods in southern Alberta and the Could 2016 wildfires within the Fort McMurray space. These fires led to as much as a million barrels per day of oilsands output being taken off-line at one level.

The 2023 fires are affecting manufacturing within the Montney and Duvernay areas, in addition to some standard oil and gasoline websites within the province.

Kiwetinohk Power mentioned it safely shut within the majority of its Placid operations close to Fox Creek because of downstream third-party interruptions.

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“As an oil and gasoline firm, you delight your self on having sturdy emergency response protocols. We observe quite a lot of various kinds of response situations,” mentioned firm chief working officer Mike Backus.

NuVista Power mentioned Monday it quickly shut in about 40,000 barrels per day as a result of wildfires within the Grande Prairie area as a precautionary step, and it was broadened by the shut-in of third-party infrastructure that serves its operations.

Cenovus reported it curtailed numerous standard fields and processing crops, affecting about 85,000 boe per day, primarily gasoline produced from its Rainbow Lake, Kaybob-Edson, Elmworth-Wapiti and Clearwater working areas.

Crescent Level Power introduced it shut in about 45,000 boe per day within the Kaybob Duvernay space as a precaution.

And Tourmaline Oil Corp. mentioned employees and their households have been evacuated from operated services and houses within the Edson space, as the corporate shut 9 gasoline processing services on Friday and Saturday. The Calgary-based producer isn’t conscious of any injury to its services.

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“It’s an hour-by-hour course of. We now have been capable of regain entry to some, even at present, but it surely’s clearly a really dynamic scenario,” Jamie Heard, Tourmaline’s supervisor of capital markets, mentioned Monday.

“We’re hopeful the climate circumstances at present and (Tuesday) enable the fireplace professionals within the areas to make some headway.”

Paramount Assets mentioned it quickly curtailed about 50,000 boe of manufacturing within the Kaybob and Grande Prairie areas, and evacuated all affected personnel, whereas Vermilion Power shut in about 30,000 boe per day at its west central Alberta operations.

Whitecap Assets CEO Grant Fagerheim mentioned the corporate is assessing the impact of the fires on its operations in central and northern Alberta and northeast British Columbia, noting some manufacturing was affected by interruptions to third-party processors, though some output has since come again.

“Beginning on Friday, it’s been all fingers on deck,” Fagerheim mentioned in an interview.

“Our area superintendents have been operating round and, frankly, getting drained. They’re working 20-hour shifts, simply ensuring everyone seems to be secure and wholesome.”

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TC Power mentioned Monday that it shut down two compressor stations on the Nova Fuel Transmission Ltd. system close to the wildfires in western Alberta.

In whole, western Canadian gasoline manufacturing has fallen by about two billion cubic ft (bcf) per day since Thursday to about 15.5 bcf, mentioned Martin King, senior analyst with RBN Power in Calgary.

“That’s a bit of bit greater than 10 per cent of the manufacturing of the basin that has been impacted by the fireplace and the shut-ins. That’s a reasonably sizable quantity,” King mentioned.

“We haven’t seen a variety of large influence on value but, and that’s primarily as a result of demand is simply usually delicate elsewhere in North America and there’s a lot of gasoline in storage . . . It would actually depend upon how lengthy it lasts.”

Chris Varcoe is a Calgary Herald columnist.

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