Newsletters | Request Trial | Log in | Advertise | Digital Issue   |   Search
  • Upstream
  • Midstream & Downstream
  • Gas & LNG
  • Trading & Markets
  • Corporate & Finance
  • Geopolitics
  • Podcasts
Search
Shaun Polczer
Fort McMurray
12 May 2016
Follow @PetroleumEcon
Forward article link
Share PDF with colleagues

Fort McMurray in flames

More than 1 million b/d of oil is offline and the recovery will take weeks

NORTHERN Alberta more resembles a war zone than an oil-production hub, after wildfires raged across an area the size of Tokyo. Water bombers and helicopters buzz overhead as the fire, now entering its second week of devastation, expands over 200,000 hectares and moves eastward into Saskatchewan. Convoys of equipment are at last moving north at military scale, while the final evacuations of some 25,000 oil sands employees – trapped work camps near Alberta’s production epicentre – were completed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and air force. Although the main danger has passed, the city of Fort McMurray is a desolate no-man’s land. Authorities have barricaded it and government officials s

Also in this section
The illusion of supply: Rethinking energy security when oil cannot move
16 April 2026
Demand for oil is falling because supply cannot meet it, not because it is no longer required
Letter on Africa: Cutting methane can ease Africa’s energy crunch
Opinion
16 April 2026
The continent has an immediate opportunity to make the most of its energy resources by capturing gas that is currently slipping away
Letter from Europe: Energy transition meets reality
Opinion
15 April 2026
The continent is seeing political pushback to climate plans, corporate reassessment of transition goals and rising supply risk in a fractured global order
Is this nuclear power’s big moment?
15 April 2026
The Middle East energy crisis may turn out to be pivotal to the industry’s long-term expansion, but significant challenges still stand in its way

Share PDF with colleagues

COPYRIGHT NOTICE: PDF sharing is permitted internally for Petroleum Economist Gold Members only. Usage of this PDF is restricted by <%= If(IsLoggedIn, User.CompanyName, "")%>’s agreement with Petroleum Economist – exceeding the terms of your licence by forwarding outside of the company or placing on any external network is considered a breach of copyright. Such instances are punishable by fines of up to US$1,500 per infringement
Send

Forward article Link

Send
Sign Up For Our Newsletter
Project Data
Maps
Podcasts
Social Links
Featured Video
Home
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Reaching your audience
  • PE Store
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact us
  • Privacy statement
  • Cookies
  • Sitemap
All material subject to strictly enforced copyright laws © 2025 The Petroleum Economist Ltd
Cookie Settings
;

Search