(Reuters) – Nearly 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) of Alberta oil sands production in May is in “very high” or “extreme” wildfire danger rating zones, posing a risk to supply, consultancy firm Rystad Energy said on Wednesday.
Raging wildfires have prompted mass evacuations and reduced energy production in Canada’s main oil-producing province, where meteorologists expect virtually no rain for 10 days or so.
The widespread blazes have forced more than 30,000 people out of their homes at one point and some oil and gas producers have shuttered their production due to elevated risk of wildfires amid tinder-dry weather and shifting winds.
Of the estimated May production volumes, about 60% are currently subject to extreme wildfire danger levels, with the remaining 40% subject to very high danger levels, Oslo-based Rystad said.
“As of the afternoon of May 16, high-confidence outage volumes based on operator communication stand at about 240,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd), although in reality, the impact is likely in excess of 300,000 boepd if not higher,” Rystad added.
(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
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