The Dunes West wildfire. Photo credit: Alberta Wildfire.

By The Canadian Press

Energy Business

Energy companies say they are ready for wildfire season

Apr 9, 2024 | 4:55 PM

CALGARY – Canadian energy producers say they are prepared and ready for what could be another spring and summer of drought and wildfires in Western Canada.

Last year’s hot, dry weather conditions saw oil and gas companies in northwest and central Alberta as well as northeast B.C. temporarily halt production as wildfires raged across key fossil fuel-producing regions.

Most of the curtailments were done on a precautionary basis and no significant damage to energy-producing infrastructure occurred.

Jonathan Wright, CEO of NuVista Energy Ltd., says his company temporarily shut down all of its facilities in the Grande Prairie area last May when fires made it impossible to access the company’s sites by road.

In a phone interview from an energy sector conference in Toronto on Tuesday, Wright said if this year turns out to be another significant wildfire season, NuVista’s field operators will be using satellite imagery to track the course and progression of any blazes and will immediately shut in production if necessary.

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Drought is also expected to be a risk for energy producers this year, particularly natural gas operators who use large amounts of water in their fracking operations. But Chris Carlsen, CEO of Birchcliff Energy Ltd., says his company has built its own water storage reservoirs and is confident it has enough water saved to execute its 2024 drilling program.

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