08:46 AM EDT, 06/04/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Oil prices were mostly steady early on Wednesday as lower supply from Canadian oil-sands projects threatened by wildfires offset another drop in U.S. inventories.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery was last seen down just US$0.02 to US$63.39 per barrel, while August Brent crude had slipped US$0.01 to US$65.62.

Wildfires in northern Alberta have forced the closure of some oil-sands projects as companies evacuate personnel from the region. Cenovus Energy (CVE.TO, CVE) has shut in its 238,000 barrel per day Christina Lake project, while Canadian Natural Resources suspended production at its 37,000 bpd Jackfish 1 operation.

MEG Energy (MEG.TO) on the weekend evacuated non-essential staff from its Christina Lake project, which continues normal operations. However the company said regional power outages have kept it from starting up a 70,000 bpd expansion phase. Other fires in northern Alberta and British Columbia may also force the suspension of some conventional production.

"There are currently 54 active wildfires in Northern Alberta, with 24 of them considered to be out of control. British Columbia has 66 active wildfires, with 37 out control, notably one South of Dawson Creek (Kiskatinaw River) near the Central Montney region that has provoked evacuation orders," Tudor, Pickering, Holt analyst Jeoffrey Lambujon wrote.

The curtailments come as U.S. inventories dropped again last week. In its weekly survey, the American Petroleum Institute reported U.S. oil inventories fell by 3.3-million barrels last week, ahead of the Oilprice.com consensus estimate for a drop of 0.9-million barrels. However the survey, the first since the start of the U.S. summer driving season, showed a 4.7-million barrel rise in gasoline stocks. The Energy Information Administration will release official inventory data later on Wednesday morning.