Canadian oil workers prepare for air commutes after wildfire

By Liz Hampton and Devika Krishna Kumar
EDMONTON, Alberta/NEW YORK, May 12 (Reuters) - Fort McMurray
residents Tony Bussey and Barritt Wilson are among the fortunate
of those who live in the Alberta town ravaged by wildfire - both
of their homes are fine.
However, they and a number of others are going to see their
commutes change, joining an already large group of people who
are flown in and out of the region to work on oil installations.
Last week, fire raged unchecked through the Canadian city of
Fort McMurray, leading to a full evacuation, with many losing
their homes and having to rebuild from scratch.
But Fort McMurray has long been an area that saw oil
companies using fly-in-fly-out (FIFO), which lets companies get
employees to remote work sites, where they stay in camps,
usually for a couple of weeks.
That will help some companies restart operations relatively
quickly after the devastating fire that has scorched roughly
229,000 hectares (566,000 acres).
Others, like Suncor Energy SU.TO , will be moving workers
in and out of the region through temporary workforce
arrangements from Calgary and Edmonton to help restart
operations.
The wildfire knocked out nearly half, or 1.07 million
barrels per day (bpd) of Alberta's oil sands capacity and led to
the evacuation of about 88,000 residents, many employed by the
energy sector. Production is slowly trickling back in.
Bussey and Wilson, both full-time employees of Suncor, were
taking things in stride.
"I think it will be interesting (to) fly in and fly out,
staying in the camp for the time being," said Bussey, who
anticipates living in an Edmonton hotel for several months.
With operations disrupted by the fire, the company is also
supporting displaced residents who work at their facilities with
advanced compensation.
"Oil companies are releasing retention, which is like a
bonus, to us early just to help us through,' said Wilson.
Several major producers that pepper the oil sands, including
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) Canada COP.N , Canadian Natural Resources
CNQ.TO , and others, may be able to resume operations faster
than many would have thought, though there are logistical
challenges.
For others it may take a bit longer, though companies are
adjusting. Suncor, Canada's largest oil producer, does some
FIFO, including at its Firebag facility, but tended in the past
to have employees live in the community they work in.
Suncor spokeswoman Sneh Seetal said the company will use
lodges and camps for temporary housing, and employees will
return when it is safe to bring people to Fort McMurray.
ConocoPhillips Canada, has about 23 percent of its Canadian
workforce listed as FIFO workers. Just 26 employees have Fort
McMurray residences, or about 1 percent of Canadian employees.
Still, "the logistics to get everyone back on site will be a
challenge and that is being worked in tandem with the operations
plan," ConocoPhillips spokesman Rob Evans said in an email.
Having a larger percentage of FIFO workers allows companies
to use existing camp sites and other resources to steer
themselves to recovery in the fire's aftermath.
About 78 percent of workers at the Horizon site owned by
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, Canada's largest independent
petroleum producer, are fly-in, fly-out, company spokeswoman
Julie Woo said.
Companies that have more limited FIFO programs may instead
be utilizing beds at workcamps. Suncor CEO Steve Williams said
at a press conference Tuesday that the industry has determined
there are enough beds to meet everyone's needs.
Shell Canada RDSa.L spokeswoman Tara Lemay said that prior
to the fire, the majority of Shell's staff lived in the Fort
McMurray area, but the company does have a fly-in program, which
it introduced in 2014. The company will be flying staff in and
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Canadian oil production taken off-line because of wildfire: http://tmsnrt.rs/1T6HcrN
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