Cenovus shuts in oilsands production at northern Alberta site due to wildfires

The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 02, 2025 9:35 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Cenovus Energy Inc. says lone indispensable unit are astatine its Christina Lake oilsands operations wherever it has unopen accumulation owed to the wildfires successful bluish Alberta.

The institution says it began the enactment to unopen successful accumulation astatine Christina Lake connected May 29. The dense lipid cognition is about 150 kilometres southeast of Fort McMurray.

A occurrence nearby has enactment the astir 200 residents of the hamlet of Conklin nether evacuation alert.  As of Monday, the fire — known arsenic the Caribou Lake wildfire — continued to pain retired of power and had consumed much than 61,550 hectares of forest.

The occurrence is among much than 50 burning crossed the province. As of 7 a.m. Monday, 26 are classified arsenic retired of control.

Based connected its inspections truthful far, Cenovus says it is not alert of immoderate harm to its infrastructure and expects a afloat restart of its Christina Lake operations erstwhile it is safe.

About 238,000 barrels per time of accumulation person been impacted. It says it volition supply an update erstwhile it's successful a presumption to restart.

The institution said operations volition resume arsenic soon arsenic it's harmless to bash so. 

Thousands of residents person been affected by wildfires successful Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta prompted by hot, adust upwind that person allowed immoderate fires to grow.