The entire city of Fort McMurray, Alberta, hub of the Canadian oil sands, is under a mandatory evacuation order as a raging wildfire has invaded the populated areas of town from the southwest. Most of the nearly 90,000 population are heading south to Edmonton, but some are being housed at the oil sands worker camps north of town.

None of the sprawling oil sands mining and processing facilities were directly threatened by the fire as of Wednesday afternoon, but at least two operators, Suncor and Shell, announced that they were curtailing or shutting down to allow workers and families to evacuate.

None of the four refineries in Alberta is near the fire region, and feedstock supplies are considered adequate to carry refiners through any short-term decrease in bitumen and synthetic crude supply from the oil sands operations. The same is true of refineries in the U.S. that rely upon Canadian feedstocks.

However, local fire-fighting authorities are warning that the fire is very erratic and unpredictable. It is not inconceivable that the fires could continue to burn so that workers cannot return to the sites, or if the fires turn north and threaten the surface mines and processing plants.

Suncor is one of the largest operators in the region. In a statement Tuesday the company said, “We are focusing our attention on the safety of our people and the community. Our plant is 25 km north of Fort McMurray and [is] safe. However, we are reducing production at our regional facilities in order to allow employees and their families to get to safety.”

One local source told Hart Energy, “Highway 63 usually takes four hours to get from Fort Mac to Edmonton. Now it takes 12 hours, and there is no gasoline.” It seems that getting fuel into the area is essential to getting people out.

Suncor’s total output is 440,000 barrels per day (bbl/d). Along the same lines, Shell has closed its more than 225,000 bbl/d Albian Sands operation 100 km north of town. Shell operates a 100,000 bbl/d upgrader, refinery, and chemical complex at Scotford, AB, northeast of Edmonton. Other oil sands operators are as yet unaffected, but as noted, the situation is very much in flux.

The wildfire started Sunday, May 1, in the boreal forests southwest of Fort McMurray, and were moving east, well away from populated areas. Tinder-dry conditions, temperatures of 90 F, and gusty winds made the fire unpredictable, according to local reports. The fire turned suddenly northeast on Tuesday, and came at the center of Fort McMurray from both south and northwest. Fire officials say conditions could worsen Wednesday and into Thursday before cooler weather moves in.

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