From the Wall Street Journal:
Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said she expects oil-sands companies that suspended output of crude oil by up to one million barrels a day due to wildfires that ravaged the Fort McMurray area to resume production “in the coming days and weeks.”
Ms. Notley made the comments after meeting with energy executives Tuesday and discussing the steps that need to be taken for production to be resumed, including ensuring that infrastructure such as pipelines and electricity is operational, and that there is housing and medical care for workers.
Cooler temperatures and firefighter relief efforts have helped slow the spread of the Alberta wildfires, but production remains affected due to staff evacuations and logistical hurdles such as pipeline outages.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC’s Canadian unit said Tuesday that it was able to restart production at its Albian mine, which it suspended on May 3, marking the first major producer to resume operations since the fire. The company said it would rely on fly-in, fly-out staff to operate the mine. Shell’s oil sands production capacity is 255,000 barrels a day.
The decline in output reached at least 839,000 barrels per day, or close to one-third of Canada’s overall daily production, before Shell said it had restarted Albian....MORE
