By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, May 16 – It is unclear when oil producing and drilling operations will resume in the wake of devastating forest fires around the town of Slave Lake, Alta., said Exall Energy Corp., Calgary.
A fast-moving wildfire that resulted in the shut-in of 921 b/d of oil equivalent at Exall’s Marten Mountain field has also destroyed hundreds of homes, churches, businesses, the town hall, library, and a radio station.
Enerchem International Inc., the purchaser of Exall’s Marten Mountain production, declared force majeure on May 16 due to the fires and a mandatory evacuation order that caused most of the town’s 7,000 residents to flee via a single open highway. Exall’s field operators shut in all of the company’s production as a precaution.
Exall discovered Marten Mountain in 2008 (OGJ, Mar. 17, 2008, Newsletter). The company is attempting to determine the impact the fires have had on its facilities.
US Department of the Interior.
File photo from PDVSA..
