Wildfires Encircle Canada’s Oil-Sands City: Bloomberg

A ring of wildfires has erupted around Canada’s oil-sands hub Fort McMurray, adding new threats to crude production, Bloomberg said.

• Eight out-of-control fires have been discovered south and southwest the city since July 10, while there are three blazes to the north, where the oil-sands mines are located.
• While the new wildfires are well outside of the city’s limits, one fire to the northeast forced Suncor to cut production from its 231k b/d Firebag site.
• Despite the recent flareup, the wildfire season is milder this year than last. Temperatures are also forecast to cool in Northern Alberta. This will likely ease concerns that supply will be disrupted.
• In 2016, Fort McMurray was forced to cut 1m b/d of output due to wildfires. An approaching wildfire also prompted a pre-emptive partial evacuation of the city in May.