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Alberta Wildfires Force 350,000-Barrel-a-Day Oil Sands Shutdown

Inspections after evacuations have postponed restarts despite operators finding no damage to key facilities

Smoke rises from wildfire LWF090, the Caribou Lake Wildfire, in an aerial photograph northwest of Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada May 28, 2025.  Alberta Wildfire/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
Smoke rises from wildfire SWF085 of the Red Earth East Complex, northwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada in an aerial photograph May 27, 2025.  Alberta Wildfire/Handout via REUTERS.  THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
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The Cenovus Christina Lake oilsands facility steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) pad southeast of Fort McMurray, Alta., on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.

Overview

  • Forty-nine active fires have burned over 4,800 square kilometres in Alberta, with half still uncontrolled.
  • Major producers Cenovus Energy, Canadian Natural Resources and MEG Energy have evacuated non-essential staff and halted roughly 350,000 barrels per day of heavy crude output.
  • Cenovus reports no infrastructure damage at its Christina Lake operation and anticipates a full restart in the near term.
  • The production outage tightens an already scarce global supply of heavy crude and could increase pressure on U.S. refineries and gasoline prices.
  • Oil companies and authorities are coordinating evacuations, safety protocols and ongoing fire monitoring across Alberta and adjacent provinces.