CALGARY, Alberta, June 1 (Reuters) - Suncor Energy Inc's
SU.TO gas stations across Canada's western provinces were
grappling with fuel shortages because of wildfire-triggered
production cuts along with an unplanned unit outage at the
company's Edmonton refinery, a representative said on Wednesday.
Suncor's sapped Petro-Canada outlets stretched from interior
British Columbia, through Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba,
company spokeswoman Sneh Seetal said by phone.
"We are working to minimize the impact on our customers as
much as possible," Seetal said. "Our ability to produce gasoline
is substantially reduced."
The shortage comes the same day that thousands of evacuees
from the wildfire traveled by car back to Fort McMurray, where
they face a massive cleanup and uncertainty over their safety.
Suncor was buying third-party products to bolster its own
supplies and shipping gas to locations by rail and truck. Its
three stations in Fort McMurray, more than four hours' drive
north of Edmonton, had received fuel, Seetal said.
"We have designated those stations as critical and will work
to ensure adequate supply to support the community's return to
their home," Seetal said.
She said the company was still producing gasoline at a
reduced rate at the 142,000-barrel-a-day refinery, though she
declined to specify how much.
It was not immediately clear how many stations were effected
or when supplies would return to normal.
The cause of Friday's unit outage was under investigation,
Seetal said.
The shortage also comes as Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE:KMI) KMI.N
solicited nominations for space this week on its Trans Mountain
pipeline system mainline for June, as supply shortages from
Canada's oil sands appeared to be reaching the West Coast.