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Evacuees directed to Cold Lake, Edmonton for accommodation

Three lanes of a highway show two empty and one packed with vehicles with smoky skies in the distance. — A highway camera photo shows traffic in Fort McMurray jammed in the southbound lane of Highway 63 on the north side of the Athabasca River. The image was captured at 3:11 p.m. MT Tuesday, about an hour after an evacuation order was issued for four neighbourhoods. (511 Alberta)

Thousands of Fort McMurray residents headed south to safety as a large out-of-control wildfire drew closer to their community, but many are worried they won’t have a home to return to.

An evacuation order was issued Tuesday afternoon for the neighbourhoods of Beacon Hill, Abasand, Prairie Creek and Grayling Terrace, as the wildfire southwest of the community continues to grow.

Other areas in Fort McMurray remain on evacuation alert and residents need to be ready to leave on short notice.

Marina Barnes has lived in Fort McMurray for four years and evacuated from her home in Abasand Tuesday.

“I think the worst part right now is the unknown,” Barnes told CBC as she and a friend evacuated to Lac La Biche in the evening.

“Not knowing if we’re going to have a home to go back to.”

The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo had told residents to head to an evacuation centre in Lac La Biche, but around 7 p.m., the municipality posted on social media that accommodation in Lac La Biche was full and directed evacuees to Cold Lake, about 147 kilometres to a new evacuation centre at the Agriplex.

The City of Edmonton is also accepting evacuees at a reception centre located in the Clareview Community Recreation Centre at 3804 139th Ave.

As of Tuesday night, the wildfire threatening the community has covered nearly 21,000 hectares as shifting winds and rising temperatures continue accelerating its growth and pushing the flames closer to the community.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Is This The Beginning Of An Oil Sands Revival?

January 7, 2018

Is This The Beginning Of An Oil Sands Revival?

New life was breathed into the Canadian oil sands with a decision by foreign-owned Harvest Operations Corp to commission its BlackGold project south of Fort McMurray.

The Calgary-based arm of South Korean state-owned Korea National Oil Corp announced on Dec. 21 it will start the 10,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd) steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operation, construction at which was halted in 2015 due to low oil prices.

In a press release on SEDAR, Harvest said that major work at the site has already started, with the aim of commissioning wells and starting steam injection in Q2 2018. Production is slated for the third quarter.

It cites “the stabilization of crude oil pricing and the improved operational and financial performance of Harvest’s conventional business as factors in its decision to move forward with BlackGold.”

The start-up has been helped through a refinancing of $1.36 billion of maturing debt, plus the raising last month of an additional quarter-million in financing, the company said.

Global News notes the project was built for around $900 million and was “considered mechanically complete” when it was shelved in the spring of 2015 when WTI oil prices were around $50 a barrel, half as much as a year earlier.

WTI on Thursday closed at $59.84, for a percentage gain of 0.34%. Related: 2018: The Year Of The Oil Bulls

The Canadian oil sands have seen an exodus of foreign investment since the oil price collapse of 2014 and US shale plays gathered momentum. The divestments have included Royal Dutch Shell, Marathon Oil, Statoil and ConocoPhillips.

Yesterday AXA SA, the third-largest insurer in the world, said that it will divest about $822 million from the main oil sands producers and associated pipelines, and will stop further investments in these businesses. The move could affect companies such as TransCanada, Enbridge and Kinder Morgan.

But as foreign companies have pulled out money, Canadian firms have made multi-billion-dollar deals to expand their holdings. According to energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie, Canadian ownership of oil sands production now sits at over 80%, reported the Calgary Herald.

Wildfire Nears Canada’s Major Oil Sands Plants

May 18, 2016

Wildfire Nears Canada’s Major Oil Sands Plants

A massive wildfire raging through the northern part of Alberta has swelled in size and surged north of Fort McMurray, destroying an evacuated oil sands camp on Tuesday and it is projected to encroach on major facilities shortly.

The flames consumed a 665-room oil-sands work camp north of the city, the Blacksands Executive Lodge, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley said Tuesday. The lodge is owned by Horizon North Logistics Inc. of Calgary.

Image courtesy of Nairaland.com

Officials said Wednesday they expected the fire to move east towards plants owned by Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) and its Syncrude subsidiary, CBC News reports. They added that the operations themselves are unlikely to be damaged by the flames as they are well isolated by wide barriers of cleared firebreak and gravel, and are employing their own firefighting crews.

Image courtesy of Nairaland.com

By 6:00 am local time Wednesday, the fire had grown to approximately 422,898 hectares in size.

“It’s pretty significant growth,” provincial wildfire official Travis Fairweather said in a televised interview with CBC. “We’ve just been seeing really extreme fire conditions over the last couple of days. It’s been really burning intensely and the winds have been carrying it.”

The wildfire, which destroyed whole sections of Fort McMurray earlier this month, is also expected to reach the neighbouring province of Saskatchewan.

Image © Cameron Strandberg | Flickr CC by 2.0

So far, it has forced more than 88,000 people to leave the area, with about 8,000 of them evacuating Monday night as the resurgent fire shifted directions, posing fresh threats to oil sands complexes and worker camps.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

We are all Albertans now

May 16, 2016

We are all Albertans now

It would be easy–too easy–to point to the wildfires which have devastated huge areas of northern Alberta near Fort McMurray, the hub of tar sands mining in Canada, and say that Albertans are reaping what they have sown. Yes, it’s true that climate change is coming to one of the very areas which is contributing disproportionately to climate change and with catastrophic results.

The source of the current catastrophe is that the boreal forest which surrounds the tar sands has been turned into a tinderbox because of increasingly warm, dry weather that used to be uncharacteristic of this area of Alberta. But, what is happening in Alberta was predicted decades ago to be one of the consequences of unchecked global warming.

Having said all that, we should remember that the warming we are experiencing today is actually the result of greenhouse gases dumped into the atmosphere as of 40 years ago or so. (The analysis cited gives a range of 25 to 50 years, a lag related to what is called the thermal inertia of the oceans.) If this is the case, what Albertans are experiencing today has almost nothing to do with the climate effects of tar sands exploitation since there was very little production from Alberta’s tar sands that long ago.

What this means, of course, is that there will be much worse to come even if today we were to reduce to zero all greenhouse gas emissions and other factors which are raising worldwide temperature.

The problems we are already seeing such as increased flooding in some places; increased drought in others; sea-level rise that is already swallowing islands; the rapid change in climate zones (which affects what we can grow in those zones); and myriad effects on plants and animals around the globe as their habitat shifts or disappears–all of these are just the beginning.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

How the Fort McMurray Climate Conversation Went Down in Flames

May 14, 2016

How the Fort McMurray Climate Conversation Went Down in Flames

After Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of New York and New Jersey in 2012, Bloomberg published a front page spread proclaiming, “It’s Global Warming, Stupid.”

For years, major storms, droughts, floods and fires have been connected to climate change. The climate angle was even fair game during last summer’s wildfires in western Canada.

So how did the climate conversation around the still-raging Fort McMurray wildfire that destroyed thousands of homes become so befuddling-ly messed up?

Conversations about climate change as a factor in the wildfires has garnered about as much attention as the wildfires themselves. For a recap of the “middle-finger salutes,” schadenfreude and #tinyviolins mock-sympathy for the people of Fort McMurray, check out this article on Slate.

(Add in, May 12: It’s worthwhile to point out that while there were a lot of unfortunate aspects of the public conversation about the fire, many environmental NGOs rallied their organizational capacity to raise money and basic support for evacuees. The executive directors of Canada’s most prominent environmental groups including the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecojustice, Ecology Ottawa, Environmental Defence, Equiterre, Greenpeace, LeadNow, Sierra Club, Stand and West Coast Environmental Law urged support for evacuees in a joint press release published Friday, May 6.)

Cara Pike, climate communications expert with Climate Access, says the urge to link what’s happening in Fort McMurray to climate change should be tempered by a keen sensitivity to the very real human suffering on the ground.

“We need to lead with our humanity,” Pike told DeSmog Canada. “This is a good time to listen very, very hard to what people are dealing with, what they care about, what they want for their futures and try to find those common places.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Blowout Week 123

May 8, 2016

Blowout Week 123

A few careless campers who forgot to extinguish their campfire, or maybe a few kids playing with matches, or a cigarette, or an arsonist, a piece of glass, whatever, have in the last few days done more to bring the global oil market back into balance than OPEC and the rest of the world’s producers put together:

The raging wildfire burning through vast areas in and around Fort McMurray has forced more nearby oilsands companies to shut down their operations and forced staff and output reductions at more far-flung facilities in northern Alberta.

Analyst estimates on Thursday put the total amount of oil shut in from the fires at one million bpd, or roughly 40 per cent of total oilsands production. But the amount of production affected is now expected to exceed those numbers as the fire grew significantly into Friday and as additional companies have reduced production. “When we’re talking about a potential shutdown of up to a million barrels per day, that’s very serious business for the global oil market if it persists,” BMO Capital Markets chief economist Douglas Porter said Friday.

We continue with the usual story mix, including how AGW contributed to the wildfires, industry responses to David Mackay’s comments, Exxon’s novel CCS technology, EU CO2 emissions rise, Indonesia likes thorium, UK short 87,600 nuclear technicians, Belgium hands out iodine pills, EU’s percent renewable numbers not reliable, problems with perovskite PV panels, Saudi Arabia fires Oil Minister al-Naimi, moving day for Halley Base and the world’s first certified climate refugees – from Louisiana.

El Niño and ongoing climate change have both contributed to the devastating Alberta wildfires according to experts. The weather phenomenon has caused much drier conditions than normal, leading to a massive increase in the number of fires in the province.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Fort Mac Blaze: Brace for New Era of Infernos

May 8, 2016

Fort Mac Blaze: Brace for New Era of Infernos

What’s turning northern forests into tinder? Biggest reason is climate change, but that’s not all.

Fort-Mac-Fire

A police officer surveys smoldering devastation wrought by wildfire in Fort McMurray on May 5, 2016. Source: RCMP Alberta.

A sudden shift in the wind at a critical time of day was all it took to send a wildfire out of control through Fort McMurray, forcing more than 80,000 people out of their homes in what has become the biggest natural disaster in Canadian history.

Earlier this week, Darby Allen, the regional fire chief for the area, minced no words when he was asked what might happen now that more than 1,600 homes have been destroyed.

”This is a really dirty fire,” he said. ”There are certainly areas within the city which have not been burned, but this fire will look for them and it will take them.”

The media line now is that fire experts saw this coming five years ago when one of the Flattop Complex fires tore through the Alberta town of Slave Lake in 2011, forcing everyone to leave on a moment’s notice. A report released shortly after predicted that something similar could happen again, and its authors made 21 recommendations to prepare for the possibility.

But fire scientists and fire managers actually saw this coming back in 2009 when 70 of them gathered in Victoria to address the issue of climate change and what impact it was going to have on the forest fire situation in Canada. Each one of them was already well aware that fires were burning bigger, hotter, faster, and in more unpredictable ways than ever before.

”We’re exceeding thresholds all the time,” said Mike Flannigan, who was at the time a research scientist with the Canadian Forest Service. ”We’d better start acting soon.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Welcome To Hell: The Giant Fort McMurray Fire Is The Worst Blaze In Canadian History

May 8, 2016

Welcome To Hell: The Giant Fort McMurray Fire Is The Worst Blaze In Canadian History

The gigantic wildfire that has forced the evacuation of the entire city of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta has been nicknamed “the Beast“, and mainstream news reports are telling us that it is now approximately 25 percent larger than New York City. 88,000 people have already been forced out of their homes, at least 1,600 buildings have been destroyed, and smoke from the fire has been spotted as far away as Iowa. To say that this is a “disaster” is a massive understatement. Northern Alberta is “tinder dry” right now, and authorities say that high winds could result in the size of the fire doubling by the end of the weekend. One-fourth of Canada’s oil output has already been shut down, and the edge of the fire is now getting very close to the neighboring province of Saskatchewan. This is already the most expensive natural disaster in the history of Canada, and officials fully expect to be fighting this blaze for months to come.

At this point, only rain is going to stop this fire. Canadian authorities insist that they are not going to be able to defeat this raging inferno no matter how many resources they throw at it. The best that they can hope for is to try to steer it away from heavily populated areas until the rain comes.

Nobody knows precisely how this tragedy is going to end, but everyone agrees that it is going to last for quite some time. According to the Washington Post, this fire has the potential to keep on burning “for months”…

The images are ones of devastation — scorched homes, virtually whole neighborhoods burned to the ground. And Canadian officials say they expect to fight the massive wildfire that has destroyed large parts of Alberta’s oil sands town for months.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Chaos & Volatility On The Rise

May 7, 2016

Chaos & Volatility On The Rise

The systems that support us are breaking down

No, that’s not a ‘click bait’ sensationalist title. Things are getting ‘weird’ out there if you’re trying to be polite, and downright ‘chaotic’ if you’re being blunt. Everywhere we look, we see signs that the systems that support us are breaking down.

The economy no longer spins off enough surplus for the elites to take what they consider their share with enough left over for everyone else. So the wealth gap grows unchecked into politically and socially destabilizing levels.

The oceans are rapidly dying off: with corals bleaching, tide pools acidifying, and phytoplankton disappearing. Weather weirdness is now so entrenched that all of the 50, 100 and 500-year events that happen each week are mainly reported on locally and garner little national and international attention.

Financial markets are increasingly volatile and dominated by an unruly universe of computer algorithms that now mainly play against each other, having driven off all the humans.

Politically, we’re seeing the former fringes of both parties increasingly come into power as they appeal to increasingly disenfranchised and disappointed electorates.

All of these are signs that the status quo has failed and continues to fail us. But the form of power expressed by our so-called ‘leaders’ today seems nearly incapable of healthy introspection coupled to correct action; preferring instead to do more of the same things that got us into this mess in the first place.

Those of us who can read the signs for what they are, not what we wish or believe them to be, have a special duty to first prepare ourselves for what’s coming and then help others. To put on our own oxygen masks first, and then help the others around us.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

“Out Of Control” Canada Wildfire Could Double In Size Today: Fort McKay Evacuated

May 7, 2016

“Out Of Control” Canada Wildfire Could Double In Size Today: Fort McKay Evacuated

Since we first reported on the massive fire (and the fallout) that was burning in Canada’s oil sands gateway, Fort McMurray, things have gone from bad to worse. Today we learn that the fire that has already devastated 600 square miles, growing an additional 50% in less than 24 hours, is out of control, and could double in size by the end of the day.

As of late Saturday night, the fire had grown to 156,000 hectares and was heading toward the Saskatchewan border. Officials said winds up to 40 kilometres an hour will blow Saturday and warm temperatures mean it could add another 100,000 hectares to the fire by the end of the day. “We need heavy rain,” said Chad Morrison, senior wildfire manager, giving an update with Notley at noon Saturday according to the EdJournal.

“This remains a big, out of control, dangerous fire” Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said. “There is one prediction, that if it continues to grow a the present pace, it could double today” Goodale added.

The map above shows the fire as of 11 a.m. Saturday. The smaller fire in the northeast corner of the map is expected to join the major fire today and continue growing. There are serious concerns it will reach the Saskatchewan border

Alberta’s government crisis cell warned that the fire conditions remained extreme in the province due to low humidity, high temperatures, and gusty winds.

“It looks like the weather in and around Fort McMurray will still be, sadly, very conducive to serious burning conditions. The situation remains unpredictable and dangerous.” Goodale continued.

People that fled to the north of the city are now being evacuated again due to changing wind conditions. The plan now is to move people south to other evacuee staging grounds, and eventually to Edmonton, 250 miles to the south.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

As Oil Markets Tighten, Geopolitical Events Matter Again

May 6, 2016

As Oil Markets Tighten, Geopolitical Events Matter Again

Oil prices jumped on Thursday as surprise outages came from Canada and Libya, reversing several days of losses. WTI and Brent surged by more than 4 percent in early trading on May 5.

The hellish wildfires sweeping swathes of Alberta near Fort McMurray forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of people. Alberta’s boreal forests are suffering through a bout of unusually warm and dry weather, and the tinderbox ignited and is quickly spreading. Wildfire officials in Alberta say that the fire could continue to grow, probably to about 100 square kilometers, and last at least until the weekend.

The fires forced several oil sands companies to ratchet down operations as employees and their families fled the region. Suncor Energy said that it “conducted an orderly shutdown of its base plant operations” near Fort McMurray, affecting 350,000 barrels per day of production. And because of the shortage of diluent in the region, Suncor said that its “in situ facility operations are running at reduced rates,” and “Syncrude facilities are also operating at reduced rates.”

Royal Dutch Shell also announced that it had shut down its Albian Sands mining operations. “While our operations are currently far from the fires, we have shut down production at our Shell Albian Sands mining operations so we can focus on getting families out of the region,” a spokesperson said. Shell produces 250,000 barrels of oil per day from its facilities and provided no timeline for when it expects to be back online.

Husky Energy said that it reduced production at its Sunrise oil sands project by two-thirds, ramping down to 10,000 barrels per day.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

More evacuation orders issued for Fort McMurray area

May 5, 2016

More evacuation orders issued for Fort McMurray area

Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates and Fort McMurray First Nation forced to evacuate late Wednesday

Many evacuees forced from their Fort McMurray homes by wildfire Tuesday are on the move once again.

Three communities south of Fort McMurray, one including an evacuation centre, were ordered to leave as changing weather patterns turned the wildfire their way late Wednesday evening.

A red glow from the encroaching fire can be seen ominously framing the Anzac evacuation centre as people board buses. For Donna Guillamot, evacuated yesterday from Fort McMurray, the feeling is all too familiar.

“I thought it was safe here, so I guess we’ll go to Edmonton,” said Guillamot. “It’s very stressful, you don’t know what’s burned, what’s not burned, when you can go back.”

“Now you’re sitting here and all you see is red flames. It’s pretty scary.”

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Cameron MacIntosh ✔‎@CamMacIntoshCBC

VIDEO: more on #Anzacevacuation #YMMFire #ABFire #cbcedm @cbcnews

1:42 AM – 5 May 2016

RCMP went door to door in Anzac, Gregoire Lake Estates and Fort McMurray First Nation after a mandatory evacuation order was issued.

Buses took people to Edmonton and officials hope to have everyone out by midnight. Dale Bendfeld, the acting director of community services and policing for Wood Buffalo, says safety, as always, is paramount.

“As you can see looking up there this is a very large and very serious fire we’re working with,” said Benfeld.

“It’s already taken on a city, we’re going to ensure that people of Anzac and Gregoire are safe and get them down to Edmonton and out of here.”

Evac bus

Evacuees board a bus preparing to leave Anzac. (Cameron MacIntosh)

The regional emergency operations centre (REOC) which had just relocated to Anzac from the Fort McMurray airport will be moving south to Lac La Biche.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

A carbon tax is bad for Alberta

April 27, 2016

A carbon tax is bad for Alberta

Yesterday, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley asserted that Canada was “absolutely” closer to a new pipeline due to her province’s new carbon tax. According to the premier, “Alberta is not the Alberta that they thought of a year ago, or two years ago, or three years ago. After years of inaction from the previous government, Alberta is now at the forefront in the fight against climate change.”

How does a carbon tax moderate climate change andlead to the construction of one or more proposed pipelines linking oil extraction activities in Fort McMurray to the Atlantic Ocean, the northern coast of British Columbia and an export terminal near Vancouver? An understanding of economics helps to answer that question.

The new carbon tax takes effect on January 1, 2017. The initial tax will be $20 per tonne, rising to $30 in 2018. According to the provincial government, the carbon tax is the key tool to help pay for a more diversified economy. Conspicuous by its absence is an explanation of how planned wealth redistribution improves the delivery of energy, the consumption of which the government is actively trying to discourage in view of mitigating global temperature changes.

Carbon is a chemical element common to all known life on our plant. It is non-sentient and does not experience gain or loss. Carbon does not and cannot pay taxes. Only individuals can be compelled to do so. The individuals to be dispossessed of their earnings with government’s new policy, and at what rate, can be clearly identified. With few exceptions, they include consumers in Alberta of diesel (5.35¢/litre), gasoline (4.49¢/litre), natural gas ($1.011/GJ) and propane (3.08¢/litre). Cutting through politician-speak: Taxing carbon means taxing people.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Explosion At Syncrude’s Mildred Lake Site, All Workers Are Safe

August 29, 2015

Explosion At Syncrude’s Mildred Lake Site, All Workers Are Safe

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. — An explosion at a Syncrude oilsands processing site near Fort McMurray has interrupted operations at the facility.

Ryan Bartlett with the Alberta Energy Regulator says the blast happened early Saturday morning at Syncrude’s Mildred Lake site.

Bartlett says in an email that the company reports that all workers are safe, no product has been released and no offsite odours have been detected.

Syncrude spokesman Will Gibson says a fire broke out at the Mildred Lake Base Plant’s upgrading complex and was extinguished by Syncrude firefighters.

Gibson says there’s no word on what caused the incident, nor is there an estimate on how much damage has been done.

He says only Syncrude employees are being allowed onto the base plant site on Saturday, and the company is asking its contractors to be patient while it responds to the incident.

“Part of that response will be a thorough investigation and we will release further information when it’s available. The safety of the people at our site is our top priority,” Gibson said.

Bartlett said in his email that there have been no impacts to wildlife or water bodies.

Gibson said air quality at the site is monitored carefully and that there haven’t been any concerns.

He said production has been affected but that it’s too soon to say how seriously. Such information, he said would come from Syncrude’s owners.

“It’s too soon to tell how this is going to impact our production,” Gibson said. “Other parts of our operation are continuing. It’s a very big site up here.”

Syncrude bird deaths, Nexen pipeline spill show oilsands’ degradation of ecosystem: First Nation

August 9, 2015

Syncrude bird deaths, Nexen pipeline spill show oilsands’ degradation of ecosystem: First Nation

‘Something is seriously wrong,’ says Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation

The recent bird deaths at a Syncrude oilsands facility in northern Alberta along with last month’s Nexen Energy pipeline spill — one of the biggest in the province’s history — show the need for better oversight, a local First Nation says.

Alberta pipelines: 6 major oil spills in recent history

“In less than one month, we have seen two major events that clearly demonstrate that something is seriously wrong,” said Allan Adam, chief of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), in a news release. “These incidents, and the countless more seen in recent past, are contributing to the degradation of the local ecosystems and the treaty and aboriginal rights of nations in the region.”

Alberta’s energy regulator said 30 blue herons died earlier this week at the Mildred Lake Facility north of Fort McMurray, Alta. An investigation into what caused the birds to die is still underway.

Bob Curran, a spokesman for the agency, says a Syncrude worker found one of the heron Wednesday. The animal was alive but had to be euthanized. After the company searched the area, they found the rest of the birds dead in a run-off pond.

“We have seen irreparable damages to the environment and now death of a species that is listed with special concern,” said Adam.

Adam is correct that the fannini subspecies of the great blue heron is listed as a species of “special concern” under Canada’s Species at Risk Act, but they mostly reside on the B.C. coast. According to the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s Hinterland Who’s Who website, the overall great blue heron population is healthy, and scientists estimate there are tens of thousands of the bird in Canada.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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