CALGARY: As oilsands companies send crews back to the Fort McMurray region of Alberta and prepare to restart production following the devastating wildfires, the cumulative hit to the industry’s cash flow is expected to be in the billions of dollars.
The biggest hit is expected to be felt by Suncor Energy Inc., which was forced to shut down and evacuate its operations between Fort McMurray and Fort MacKay. The shutdowns will cut $928 million, or 20 per cent, from the company’s operating cash flows this year, according to research from RBC Capital Markets. Those facilities were producing 300,000 barrels of oil per day before the fire.
Suncor, Canada’s largest integrated oil producer, announced Sunday that it expected initial production from its Base Plant mining operation and MacKay River steam-based oilsands plant by the end of the week, which will help the company generate cash after the multi-week shutdown of its major facilities. The company started producing oil from its Firebag operation last week.
