(Recasts, adds comment from Suncor, background)
By Ethan Lou
TORONTO, May 29 (Reuters) - Suncor Energy Inc's SU.TO
facilities north of Fort McMurray, Alberta, are expected to
partially restart by the end of the week, the company said on
Sunday, the latest sign Canadian oil sands producers are coming
back online after a massive wildfire.
The start-up of Suncor's base plant and MacKay River sites
is under way, with "initial production" expected by the end of
the week, the company said in a statement, which noted initial
production at its Firebag site began early last week.
A spokeswoman declined to specify the production volume
expected as operations resume.
Bitumen capacities at Firebag and MacKay River are 203,000
and 38,000 barrels per day, respectively, and the base plant
upgrader facility's capacity is 350,000 barrels a day, Suncor
said.
Energy companies have begun restarting operations as the
threat from the wildfire recedes. Fort McMurray itself still
sits largely empty after its entire population of nearly 90,000
was evacuated earlier this month.
The wildfire, expected to be Canada's costliest natural
disaster, cut Canadian oil output by a million barrels a day.
The inferno has charred more than 500,000 hectares (1,930
square miles) across the northern part of the province of
Alberta and crossed into the neighboring province of
Saskatchewan.
Rain and higher humidity in recent days have helped
firefighting efforts. The Alberta government said firefighting
conditions would improve through the weekend.
Authorities last week lifted evacuation orders on all work
camps in the area and many oil facilities, including those of
Suncor and its majority-owned Syncrude.
"There has been no damage to Suncor's assets and all sites
have enhanced fire mitigation and protection," the company said.
Suncor said it had moved more than 4,000 employees and
contractors back into the region for its restart efforts and
would move 3,500 more in the coming week.
It also said Syncrude was planning its own return to
operations. A Syncrude spokesman declined to comment on a time
line for restarting operations.
Some of the evacuees from Fort McMurray may be allowed to
return as soon as Wednesday, if air quality improves and other
safety conditions are met.