Suncor Resumes Oil-Sands Operations After Wildfire Shutdown
- 4,000 workers back in region; 3,500 more expected to return
- Cooler weather, days of rain improved conditions, Suncor says
Burnt trees from wildfires burning stand in this aerial photograph taken above Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, on Friday, May 6, 2016. The wildfires ravaging Canada's oil hub in northern Alberta have rapidly spread to an area bigger than New York city, prompting the air lift of more than 8,000 evacuees as firefighters seek to salvage critical infrastructure.
Photographer: Darryl Dyck/BloombergSuncor Energy Inc. restarted oil-sands operations near wildfire-ravaged Fort McMurray, enabling thousands of people to return to work.
Suncor and other oil-sands operators reduced output by more than 1 million barrels a day of this month as wildfires spread in the region and forced evacuations and the shutdown of pipelines and power supplies. “Cooler weather and several days of precipitation” have improved conditions, Canada’s largest energy company said in a statement on Sunday.