Oil spill near Slave Lake investigated
Breach 10th for CNRL this year
A Canadian Natural Resources Limited pipeline spilled 70,000 litres of oil and processed water Monday northwest of Slave Lake.
The Alberta Energy Regulator said the pipeline breach was reported by CNRL the same day. The spill happened on leased land and is not an emergency, the regulator said. The oil is not near people, water or wildlife, and a cleanup is underway. Low amounts of hydrogen sulphide gas were also detected in the spill.
In an emailed statement, a CNRL spokeswoman said the Calgary-based company contained the spill and recovered the oil. It is investigating the cause of the leak, which occurred above ground for less than three hours.
The spill is CNRL’s 10th incident this year in Alberta, the energy regulator’s website says. Between 2003 and 2012, the company had 2,168 pipeline incidents in Alberta, Greenpeace said, almost twice as many as any other company.
In early January, CNRL was alerted to an underground leak 440 metres down at a well pad at their Primrose site, near Cold Lake. In that case, a fault in the cement casing in the well allowed 27,000 litres of bitumen to seep into the adjacent rock layer. No bitumen came to the surface and the leak was stopped when the company shut in the well.
Last spring, four other leaking sites were discovered on the CNRL Primrose field, where bitumen continues to surface through deep fissures. Earlier this month, CNRL withdrew its second application to resume oil production before the completion of an investigation into the leaks.
More than 11,000 barrels have surfaced in the past 10 months, among the province’s largest spills, and there is no way to stop it.
CNRL also faces 11 charges in connection to the release of hydrogen sulphide gas from a project near Fort McMurray was charged in May 2012 for a similar incident.
Earlier this month, CNRL was charged with 11 infractions under the Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act for an Aug. 2, 2012 incident, when hydrogen sulphide gas was released from the company’s Horizon upgrader facility near Fort MacKay. The company is accused of providing misleading information to the Fort McKay First Nation and failing to properly report the contravention and release to the First Nation.
Environment and Sustainable Resource Development started an investigation after receiving reports of high ambient air monitoring and complaints from residents of Fort MacKay.