Casualty of the inferno

Damage spreads across supply chain

OIL MARKETS have been focused on how western Canada's wildfires would affect crude production. The impact on natural gas may prove worse. The fires in Fort McMurray in May forced oil sands producers to shut in 1.3m barrels a day for most of the month and much of June. But those plants consume nearly 1bn cubic feet a day of natural gas to generate heat and steam for extraction. Analysts estimate that only a third of lost gas demand has returned. The impact on domestic gas markets has been devastating. Intra-Alberta pricing at the Alberta Energy Company (Aeco) hub fell to C$0.05 ($0.04) per million British thermal units on 9 May, before ending at C$0.38, the lowest settle price since records b