Alberta oilsands firms focus on essential work only

Alberta’s oilsands are maintaining production levels with critical staff only as operators try to minimize the workforce impact of the Omicron variant. However, depending on the trajectory of the virus, the head of an industry group said there could come a point when output is affected.

“This period of low activity was planned for and prepared for,” said Perry Berkenpas, executive director of the Oil Sands Community Alliance. “I’ll offer that we can see on the horizon some emerging issues with staffing that have the potential to impact the operations in the next number of months.”

Berkenpas said energy companies operating remote camps in northern Alberta are focused only on routine day-to-day operations and are enforcing work-from-home orders for all other employees. The decision was made just before Christmas, when it became apparent that Omicron would likely have an impact, he said.

“The amount of work and the amount of people on-site has been as low as possible,” Berkenpas said, adding in normal times between 40,000 and 60,000 workers are on location any given day at oilsands mines in the Wood Buffalo region of northern Alberta.

“Right now, in most cases it’s anywhere from 40 to 65 per cent fewer staff than would be there during normal operations.”

The regular Christmas lull as well as the extreme cold weather that is idling some servicing rigs are also contributing to the reduced activity at sites, Berkenpas said. But he said sooner rather than later, companies will want to ramp up again — and the dynamic nature of Omicron means there’s a lot of uncertainty around when or how that will happen.

During earlier waves of the pandemic, Alberta’s oilsands camps were the source of significant outbreaks. Thousands of cases of COVID-19 were linked to oilsands production facilities in the spring of 2020, and again in the spring of 2021.

It’s not clear how many oilsands workers are currently sick with COVID-19. The only oilsands facility currently listed on Alberta Health’s website as an outbreak location is Suncor Energy Inc.’s Fort Hills site — which according to the department, has been linked to 266 cases, all but three of which have already recovered.

Last spring, oilsands operators partnered with Alberta Health Services to hold COVID19 immunization clinics at work camps and sites in the Wood Buffalo region.

Berkenpas said 17,000 to 18,000 vaccines were administered during these campaigns, though no similar on-site clinics have yet been established to offer boosters.

An outbreak at Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.’s (CNRL) Horizon camp in the spring of 2021 became the largest workplace outbreak in Canada, and resulted in the deaths of three workers. It has made full vaccination mandatory for all workers and on-site contractors, and company spokeswoman Julie Woo said in an email there has been “minimal” impact to CNRL operations due to Omicron.

Woo said CNRL has other measures in place, including daily health checks, screening protocols prior to boarding public transportation, physical distancing in its camp and dining room facilities, and mandatory mask wearing while indoors.

Imperial Energy Corp. and Cenovus Energy said they continue to operate safely and have implemented robust health measures, including encouraging vaccination and enforcing rapid testing at field locations.