Wildfires Threaten Alberta Oil Operations; Canadian Natural Among Firms At Risk

Several wildfires emerged over the weekend in Canada’s top oil-producing province of Alberta, with some spotted close to wells operated by Canadian Natural Resources, according to reports.

Bloomberg News reported four out-of-control fires raging across Alberta at 4:15 p.m. Monday, including a 2,000-hectare blaze near Swan Hills. The authorities have already issued an evacuation order for the town’s citizens.

The report said the fire is less than half a kilometer away from a well site operated by Canadian Natural and within 20 kilometers of separate well sites operated by the company and other oil producers.

Canadian Natural told Bloomberg that it is monitoring the wildfire situation across its operations. It added that it’s working to ensure that staff living in evacuation areas are safe and that emergency-response plans are in place.

Alberta produces nearly 4 million barrels of oil per day, most of which is shipped to U.S. refineries.

According to a report by ATB Economics, since 2011, Alberta’s crude production only saw a yearly decrease in 2016, when severe wildfires ravaged the province, and in 2020, driven by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2016 wildfire burned down thousands of homes and forced the shutdown of 1 million barrels per day of oil production.

Retail sentiment on Stocktwits about Canadian Natural was in the ‘bearish’ (28/100) territory, while retail chatter was ‘low.’

Canadian Natural stock has fallen marginally year to date (YTD).

The company's first quarter production had touched a record 1.6 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in the first quarter.

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