More than $1B in oilsands production lost, reports Canadian Press
The Blacksand Executive Lodge was hit by flames earlier this week. — Photo courtesy Horizon North
On the heels of recent re-starts of oil production in and around the Fort McMurray area, fire once again chased workers from a number of oil sand facilities. One facility to be heavily damaged by fire was the Horizon North facility called the Blacksand Executive Lodge.
According to a report by Canadian Press, "a new assessment of the economic impact of those Fort McMurray wildfires says close to $1 billion of oilsands production has been lost."
It states that the Conference Board of Canada estimates that the fire in northeastern Alberta resulted in a loss of 1.2 million barrels of oil per day for two weeks, translating into $985 million in lost gross domestic product which represents about 0.33 per cent of Alberta’s projected GDP this year and 0.06 per cent of Canada’s projected GDP.
Twelve oilsands operations were shut down and several more curtailed output this month because of the wildfire that closed pipelines and forced the evacuation of more than 80,000 people from the area.
The board estimates that the wildfire will reduce GDP growth in Alberta by one per cent in the second quarter but that will reverse into a one per cent gain in the third quarter as oilsands production resumes and rebuilding begins.
Some 2,400 structures in Fort McMurray were destroyed by the wildfire, including 1,600 residental homes—a major rebuilding effort will be required once the wildfires are extinguished.
The Conference Board anticipates rebuilding efforts to add to some $1.3 billion in real GDP to Alberta’s economy next year and construction in the region is expected to be higher than normal in 2018 and possibly 2019.
