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6TuesdayOctober12013ByMEAGANWOHLBERGTheAlbertagovernmenthasorderedCanadianNaturalRe-sourcesLtd.CNRLtodrainalakeaspartofitscleanupofoneoffourcontinuingbitumenleaksontheColdLakeWeap-onsRangeinnortheasternAl-bertaongoingsinceMay.Theorderrequirestempo-raryremovalofwaterfromanunnamedbitumen-affectedwaterbodybeforethewaterfreezessothatpermanentcon-tainmentmeasurescanbeputinplaceoverthewinter.ByJACKDANYLCHUKWiththeMackenzieRivershippingseasonapproachingitstraditionalclosetugandbargecompaniesarepushingtocompletetheirnalvoy-agesbymid-Octoberwhennavigationbuoysareliftedfromtheriverandforthersttimeindecadesthereisanewcompanyonthewater.ThisyearIslandTugandBargeITBnostrangertotheNorthjoinedtwosurvi-vorsfromthegoldeneraofshippingontheriver-Coo-perBargingServicesandNorthernTransportationCo.Ltd.NTCL.ITBbroughtfourdouble-hulledfuelbargesfromitsbaseinVancouverwiththeexpectationofndingworkforthemontheMackenziebut2013provedtobemoreaboutpositioningequipmentandestablishingabaseinHayRiversaidNielsGramthecompanysvice-presidentofmarketing.Overthelasttwoyearsweveinvestedcloseto40millioninthisGramsaid.WevehadaninterestintheCanolplayseesnewcompetitorontheMackenzieNorthforsometime.In2005wemadeafueldeliverytotheBeaufortSeaintheWesternArcticandweveseenitasagoodgrowthopportunity.NotsincetheArcticex-plorationboomofthe70sandthewaningdaysoftheNationalEnergyProgramwhenahalfdozentugandbargecompaniesworkedtheMackenziehastheNorthat-tractedsomuchinterestfrommarinetransportationandlogisticscompanies.TheCanolShaleplaywasoneofmanypotentialbusi-nessopportunitieswhichwaspartofourdecisionmakingGramsaidbutemphasizedthecompanysgeneralstrategyisbasedmoreontryingtosatisfylocalmarkets.IfsomeofthesebiggerplayscametofruitionwewillbeinpositioniftherewasatforITB.Afterseveralyearsofset-backsbeginningwiththe2008recession2013wasasatisfyingyearforNTCLdespitethelossofBillDuffythethirdpersontoserveaspresidentofthecompanysince2009.DuffysteeredtheiconicNortherncompanythroughwhatwasdescribedasamakeorbreakyearre-nancingNTCLspensiondebt.ButlastMayhereturnedtoMcKeilMarineinHamilton.Wesecuredfuelcon-tractswithImperialOilandtheNorthwestTerritoriesandwecarriedmostofthesuppliesforConocoPhil-lipsandHuskysaidBillSmithNTCLsvice-pres-identoflogisticsandbusi-nessdevelopment.TheCanolshaleplayifitprovesupcouldbeareturntothefutureplannedforNTCLinthe70swhenitseetoftugsandbargeswasbuilttoserviceenergydevelopmentsintheMackenzieDeltaandBeaufortSea.Itsoneofthemoreim-portantdevelopmentstotakeplaceintheNorthinthelastwhileSmithsaid.Hope-fullyitwillcarryforwardforagreatmanyyears.FromourperspectiveitsanimportantpartoftheNorthandbusi-nesstoourcompany.ThisyearNTCLhadninescheduledstopsinNormanWellsupfromsixlastyearsomethingthecommu-nityandpotentialcustom-ershavebeenaskingforandwehavedoneeverythingwecantomeetthoserequestsSmithsaid.NTCLdoesntventureintotheLiardthedomainofCoopersaidSmithwhoseesthemaincompetitionontheMackenziecomingfromITB.Mostpeoplesaythereisnotmuchwrongwithcom-petitionhenoted.Cooperhasbeendeliv-eringfuelandsuppliestocommunitiesontheLiardandMackenziesince1942whenMikeCoopersfatherrstvoyageddowntheLiard.TheCanolshaleplayisaddingtotheirbusinesssaidCooper.TheyhavebargedequipmentandsuppliesforMGMEnergyConocoPhil-lipsandHuskymostlydrillrigsandsupplies.FortSimpsongivesusaquickerturnaroundthanHayRiverforrentedequip-mentbroughtnorthfortheCanolhesaid.AlotofequipmentwehaulinisusedforthejobandthenhauledoutonthenextvoyagetoNormanWells.NorthernTransportCompanybargeslinethebanksoftheMackenzieRiverintheSahtu.PhotocourtesyofNTCLCompanyorderedtodrainlaketocleanupoilspillAlbertaissuesprotectionordertoCNRLforongoingColdLakeleakThebitumeniscurrentlyleakingbelowthelakeandhasstayedsunkatthebottom.Doingtheworkwhenthegroundisfrozenwillminimizethelong-termenvironmentalimpacttothewaterbodytheprovincestatedinanewsre-leaselastTuesday.CNRLisrequiredtotempo-rarilydewaterapproximatelytwo-thirdsofthe53-hectarebodyofwaterpriortofreeze-up.Alargeportionofthere-movedwateristobestoredintheremainingone-thirdofthelakesothatwaterlevelsmayberestoredinspring2014.Theorderalsodemandspermanentcontainmentcleanupremediationandres-torationofthelakebynextspringatwhichpointitwillberelledwithstoredwater.CNRLrstreportedbitu-mencomingtothesurfacebeneaththewaterbodyatitsPrimroseSouthfacilityonJune24.Thecompanyinitiatedtem-porarycontainmentmeasuresaspartofitsresponseefforts.Threeotherleakswerelocatedpreviouslyatsur-facesitesapproximately10kmawayinCNRLsPrim-roseEastoilandgasdevel-opmentsbutarenotsubjecttotheenvironmentalprotec-tionorder.IndependentinvestigationraisesconcernsAnindependentinvestiga-tionintotheongoingbitumenleaksreleasedonSept.17co-writtenbyGlobalForestWatchandTreelineEcologi-calResearchcriticizestheAlbertaEnergyRegulatorforbunglingitscommunica-tionswithCNRLandfailingtoprotectthepublicinterest.KevinTimoneyandPeterLeethetwoleadinvestiga-torswritethattheCNRLleaksaresignicantinthattheyrepresentanewtypeofindustrialincidentthatdiffersfundamentallyfromatypicalspill.Thosedifferencesaremadeapparentbythefactthatthecauseoftheleaksremainsuncertaintheleaksarelo-cateddeepundergroundandarenotconnedtoapipelineandthusaredifculttostopthereleasesarethree-dimen-sionalasopposedtosurfacespillstheleakingbitumeniscomingupthroughanet-workofbothhorizontalandverticalssurestheriskstotheintegrityofthebitumenreservoirandgroundwaterhavebeenunquantiedandtheleakswereapparentlyunforeseenbyindustryandtheregulator.Acausebehindasimilarleakin2009fromCNRLsPad74facilityhasstillnotbeendeterminedbytheregu-latorthereportnotesmean-ingsafeguardsthatwouldhaveloweredtheriskoffu-turereleaseswerenotinsti-tuteddespiteanexcessivefour-yeartimeperiodbetweentherstleakandtheongo-ingincidents.Inlightoftheunquanti-edriskstothebitumenres-ervoirgroundwaterandtheadjacentecosystemsthede-cisionbytheAlbertaregu-latortoallowHighPressureCyclicSteamStimulationHPCSStocontinuewasunjustiedbytheavailableevidencethereportstates.Theproximityofthe2009leaktothefourexistingonesfrom2013suggestthevemaybecausallyrelatedandmayshareacommonsourceareaatwellPad74thepaperalsonotes.Whetherverticalmigrationofbitumenincludedfailedwellboresisuncertainbutthenearsimultaneityofthefourre-leasesarguesagainstwellborefailureasthesoleexplanation.TimoneysaidtheAlbertaregulatorsdecisiontoallowCNRLtocontinueopera-tionsfellshortofitsman-datetoprotectthepublicinterest.Thefourbitumenre-leasestosurfaceattributedtoHPCSSthathaveoccurredduringtherstsixmonthsof2013intheCNRLPrimroseareapresentaclearwarn-inghesaid.DuediligencedictatesthatallHPCSSop-erationsshouldbesuspendeduntilmajorunknownsareaddressed.IfnotcontinueduseofHPCSSmayresultinlargeandunpredictablecostsandthosecostswillnotbebornebytheenergycompaniesbutbyfuturegenerations.ThelastmediareleasebyCNRLprovidedonJuly31statesthePrimroseleakshavebeensecuredandthatcleanuprecoveryandreclamationactivitieswerewellunderway.AnonlinecountersetupbyMikeHudemaclimateandenergycampaignerforGreenpeaceinEdmontonestimatesthatover1.5mil-lionlitresofbitumenandcountinghaveleakedintotheenvironmentfromthefourCNRLsitesasapprox-imately3000litrespoursouteachday.IndustryOilGasEnvironmentOilSpillWESCLEANNORTHERNSALESLTD.Fluffyisaveryfriendlycreature.Shemakesforgreatcompanyinwonderfultopet.Pleaseleaveamessageat872-5543fordetails.