Fire points to Alberta’s infrastructure weak

摘要

It’s been about three weeks since the wildfire broke out in the heart of Alberta’s oil sands production in the Athabasca region in Fort McMurray, and it’s still raging. Some 1,950 fire fighters, 208 helicopters, 29 air tankers and countless heavy equipment have been relentlessly fighting the “Beast” (nicknamed by firefighters), which has grown to engulf over 500,000 hectares. The Alberta government also mounted a successful Herculean effort evacuating over 90,000 residents without a single loss of life. The oil industry didn’t fare so well as in a span of just three days, oil sands producers responded by either curtailing output or completely shutting down production totaling roughly 1.3 million b/d. The hasty production pull back raises strategic questions about the reliability of Athabasca as a growing oil production center striving to be on the world stage.