‘Zombie fires’ threaten drillers
Leftover blazes from last year’s record wildfire season in Canada are threatening to knock out almost three per cent of the country’s natural gas production.
A total of 50 so-called zombie fires still smouldering beneath layers of snow are located near oil and gas wells and other production facilities, according to government data analyzed by Bloomberg News. Those sites yield natural gas equivalent to about 80,000 barrels a day of oil in Canada’s energy heartland of Alberta alone, in addition to almost 14,000 barrels a day of crude.
Companies most at risk of disruptions include Tourmaline Oil Corp., the country’s biggest gas driller, as well as oilsands giant Cenovus Energy Inc. and Paramount Resources Ltd. Smaller explorers could also be affected, including closely held Westbrick Energy Ltd.
The residual blazes underscore how Canada’s energy industry — underpinned by an oilsands sector that produces some of the world’s dirtiest crudes — is increasingly imperilled by climate change. Unusually hot, dry weather contributed to the country’s worst wildfire season last year, darkening skies over New York and other U.S. cities. And with over 65 per cent of Canada abnormally parched or in drought at the end of March, the nation is bracing for another smokefilled summer.
Canada could be facing another catastrophic fire season this year as dangerously dry conditions combine with higher-than-normal temperatures buoyed by the El Niño weather pattern, according to a government forecast. Alberta declared the start of its wildfire season on Feb. 20, the earliest in recent years. Zombie fires, along with new ones, could flare up as temperatures rise throughout the spring.
The leftover fires burn into organic matter in the earth including into peat, which smoulders easily and is difficult to extinguish. The blazes from 2023 aren’t generally as much of a threat as new conflagrations that emerge, but the large number of carry-over fires this year is a problem, Alberta Wildfire spokeswoman Josee St-onge said by phone.
“The advantage is we know them and we have been working on them for a year,” she said.