Alberta’s wildfires are forcing community evacuations throughout the region, but while oil and gas operators are taking precautions, there are currently no reports of major damage to energy infrastructure.
A May 7 update from Canadian regulators confirmed that more than 29,000 individuals have been evacuated from communities throughout north and central Alberta and that there were 109 active wildfires in the Forest Protection Area, 28 of which were classified as out of control as of 6:10 pm.
On May 8, Crescent Point Energy Corp. said it has temporarily shut in its Kaybob Duvernay production in response to the wildfires. This precautionary measure has left about 45,000 boe/d of production temporarily shut-in with a plan to restart production once safe and permitted to do so, the company said. No damage has been reported to the company's assets.
Also on May 8, Vermilion Energy Inc. said it is monitoring operations in West Central Alberta and has temporarily shut-in some 30,000 boe/d of production while it assesses the risk to operations. The company’s assessment at the time indicated minimal damage to “key,” unspecified infrastructure.
NuVista Energy Ltd. has temporarily shut in and depressured all operations in proximity to fires in the Grande Prairie region as a precautionary measure, it said in a release May 8. The shut-ins began partially on May 5, and were then broadened by the shut-in of third-party infrastructure which serves its production, it said. The temporary production impact is about 40,000 boe/d. The company said it stands ready to restart operations as soon as the risk is diminished and that it is not aware of damage to any company or third-party assets and infrastructure.
Also curtailing Grande Prairie operations is Pipestone Energy Corp. The wildfires have resulted in the precautionary shut-in of about 20,000 boe/d of production since the evening of May 5, the company said in a release May 8. The company said it is not aware of any significant damage or loss to its owned or third-party infrastructure.
