Barclays On Fort McMurray Fire Update: Oil Sands Recovering

Barclay's Paul Cheng reported on the current state of oil-rich Fort McMurray after the wildfire started on May 1.

"Re-entry for residents in Fort McMurray has begun with around 10% of residents returning on June 1 and as much as 20%-25% of residents returning by Thursday, June 2," according to Cheng.

Confidence in the area started to recover as the wildfire became more contained claimed the analyst. "We highlight that the false restart process from a few weeks ago does not seem to be as much of a looming threat of repeating at this point," though there were several uncertainties:

• How much of the oil sands operations that were shut down previously that are now online
• How long it will take for the industry to ramp back up to pre-fire

Cheng estimated current total production offline at 1.1 mmb/d from 1.3mmb/d at the height of shut ins and evacuations.