Oil production in Canada's Fort McMurray coming back online

[MONTREAL] Oil production in Canada's fire-ravaged oil sands area is coming back online and thousands of workers are returning to their jobs, leading Canadian petroleum producer Suncor said on Sunday.

"Start-up activities are well underway," the company said in a release, noting that one facility began initial production last week and another is expected to reach the milestone by the end of this week.

"Suncor has moved over 4,000 employees and contractors back into the region ... and anticipates that over the coming week it will move approximately 3,500 additional people to support its return to operations."

None of Suncor's facilities was damaged by the massive forest fire in the Fort McMurray area of Alberta province that has been burning for a month but in recent days has moved away from populated regions.

Some 100,000 people were ordered to move to safety.

The work stoppage at oil facilities in the region reduced Canada's total output by an estimated 1.2 million barrels per day.

REUTERS