Wildfire-sparked evacuation orders lifted at more Canadian work camps

By Eric M. Johnson and Ethan Lou
CALGARY/TORONTO, May 23 (Reuters) - Authorities in Canada
lifted evacuation orders on Monday for more work camps and oil
facilities that had been shuttered when a massive wildfire
threatened the nation's energy hub, bringing more good news for
companies eager to restart production.
Municipal authorities for the oil town said a "phased
re-entry" was authorized for at least six work camps, including
those for Suncor Energy Inc's SU.TO Baseline and MacKay River
camps north of the fire-ravaged oil town of Fort McMurray.
South of the city, sites belonging to Athabasca Oil Corp
ATH.TO and Japan Canada Oil Sands Ltd were slated for
re-entry, authorities said in a statement, though they did not
make clear which ones.
The oil companies did not immediately respond to requests
for comment.
The facilities were shuttered early last week as the huge
wildfire surged toward the area around Fort McMurray, prolonging
a shutdown that has cut Canadian oil output by a million barrels
a day.
Fort McMurray itself still sits largely empty after its
entire population of nearly 90,000 was evacuated when the fire
hit earlier this month.
The lifting of evacution orders means that workers can
return to lodging sites as soon as the facilities are deemed
safe by provincial forestry and health authorities, a process
likely to be completed in the coming days, said Robin Smith, a
spokesman for the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.
By Monday, the inferno had charred more than 500,000
hectares (1,930 square miles) across northern Alberta, though
its footprint remained unchanged since Friday and it was not
expected to grow due to damp, cold weather, wildfire information
office Laura Stewart said.
News of additional camps set to re-open came a day after
authorities announced a similar plan for camps near Nexen's Long
Lake and ConocoPhillips's COP.N Surmont facilities, both of
which had stopped production due to the fire.
Camps were also due to re-open near Enbridge Inc's ENB.TO
Cheecham terminal, which the company has said was returning to
full service.
An Enbridge ENB.TO spokesman said the company's Cheecham
terminal and its pipelines were operational, and they would be
ready to ship oil as producers "come back on-line." He declined
to comment on the facility's current volume.
ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) said it started a staged re-mobilization plan
at Surmont, and by Friday expected to have 350 people back on
site, though there was no immediate indication of its schedule
for restarting production, a spokesman said on Monday.
Cogeneration electric plants' output around Fort McMurray
edged up to 477 megawatts by early Monday from 455 MW Friday
afternoon, according to the Alberta Electric System Operator
(AESO).