Suncor shuts Firebag oil sands site from Alberta wildfire, lifting Canadian crude prices

Canadian heavy crude prices rose for the second day After Suncor Energy Company (New York Stock Exchange: SU) said it had reduced production at its Firebag oil sands site, a day after withdrawing all essential workers as a precaution due to Forest fires are getting out of control. In northern Alberta.

Western Canadian Select crude’s discount to West Texas Intermediate crude fell to $13.65 a barrel on Friday from $14.70 a barrel in the previous session, Bloomberg reported.

The facility produces up to 215,000 barrels of oil per day and employs a workforce from across Canada; the company’s website says there are typically about 400 people on site each day.

The Alberta government said Thursday the fire was about 8 km northeast of Suncor’s (SU) main Firebag plant, 14 km northeast of Firebag Airport and 16 km east of Imperial Oil’s (IMO) Kearl oil sands facility.

Suncor (SU) said its other oil sands operations were not at risk, while Imperial Oil (IMO) and Cenovus Energy (CVE), which has a plant in Sunrise to the south, said their operations had not been affected so far.

Canada’s wildfire season has been quieter than last year so far, but large areas of western Canada are still burning. abnormally dry Due to the ongoing drought, the wildfire season tends to peak in July and August.