Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Page 7
Page 8
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Page 14
Page 15
Page 16
Page 17
Page 18
Page 19
Page 20
EnvironmentOilSpill2TuesdayJuly292014NEWSBRIEFSMandeadafterhead-oncollisiononHighway63A66year-oldmalefromOntarioisdeadfollowingahead-oncollisionalongHighway63innorthernAlbertaonJuly20.Theaccidentoccurredafterthemansnorthboundpickuptruckcrossedoverthecentrelineandcrashedintoasouth-boundgraveltruck.Thetwo-vehiclecollisionhappenedaroundkilometre190oftheroadsouthofFortMcMur-ray.ThescenewasclosedforaperiodofapproximatelyeighthoursasRCMPofcersinvestigated.Themaninthepickuptruckwaspronounceddeadatthescenewhilethedriverofthegraveltruckwastransportedtohospitalwithminorinjuries.Asofpublicationdateinvestigationswereongoing.LutselKeDeneFirstNationcancelannualspiritualgatheringDuetoanabundanceofresintheregiontheLutselKeDeneFirstNationhaselectedtocancelthisyearsspiritualgatheringusuallyheldeveryyearatOldFortRelianceofftheEastArmofGreatSlaveLake.Thede-cisionwasmadeduringacommunitymeetinghostedtwoweeksago.Sofarthesitehasremainedunburnedandsafethankstoreghtereffortsbutheavysmokelingersintheareataintingtheair.Duringthegather-ingmembersoftheFirstNationgoonapilgrimagetothesacredsiteoftheOldLadyoftheFallstotakepartintraditionalceremony.BodydiscoveredinMackenzieRivernearFortProvidenceRCMPofcersreceivednoticeofabodyfoundintheMack-enzieRivernearFortProvidenceonJuly23.Thedeceasedwasdiscoveredbylocalswhonoticedthebodybythecon-uenceoftheHornRiver.AsofpublicationdatethedeathisnotconsideredtobesuspiciousandtheofceofthechiefcoroneroftheNorthwestTerritorieshastakenoverthecase.Acauseofdeathhasyettobedetermined.ThedeceasedwilleventuallybetransportedtoEdmontonAlta.forposi-tiveidenticationaswellasanautopsy.OilsandsblowoutcausedbysteamingregulatorconfirmsByMEAGANWOHLBERGConrmingthecompanysrecentadmissionthathigh-pres-surizedsteamingpracticesmaybeatfaultfortheongoingbitu-menseepagenearColdLakeanindependenttechnicalreviewbytheregulatorhasconrmedtheyear-longblowoutisnotonlytheresultofwellborefailures.TheAlbertaEnergyRegu-latorAERreportedlastweekthatfourflowtosurfaceFTSincidentstakingplaceatCanadianNaturalResourcesLtd.sCNRLPrimroseinsituoilsandsprojectareprimarilytheresultofthecompanyssteamingstrategywhichledtofracturedcaprockandwell-borefailures.TheindependenttechnicalreviewindicatedthatCNRLsstrategytoinjectlargevol-umesofsteamatfracturepres-sureincloselyspacedwellswasafundamentalcauseoftheFTSincidentstheAERstatedlastTuesday.Thereportconcludedthattheleakswerecausedbythreecontrollablefactorsincludingwellswithpoorsealingtoomuchstressontheoverlyingshaleandexcessivevolumesofoilbeingpumpedtosurface.Itnotesthatnaturalfracturescouldalsobeatfaultrequiringmoregeologicresearch.TheAERhasimposedre-strictionsonsteamingactiv-ityatthePrimroseEastsiteandwithinonekilometreofPrimroseSouthsinceJune2013afterbitumenwasfoundleakingtothesurfaceatfourseparatesites.Todateabout1180cubicmetresofbitumenemulsionhasbeenrecoveredfromthe20.7-hectareimpactedareawherecleanupisongoing.Accordingtotheregulatorthebitumenreleasehasnowbeencontained.AERpresidentandCEOJimEllissaidtheleakscouldbepreventedwithpropermiti-gationmeasuresbutindicatedCNRLwouldnotbeproceed-ingfullsteamaheadanytimeinthenearfuture.TheAERisnotpreparedtoapproveareturntofullop-erationsatthesesitesuntilallpotentialrisksareaddressedandproperrequirementsareinplacetoavoidasimilarin-cidenthesaid.Thiswillrequireagradualstep-by-stepapproachthatallowsustomanagethoserisks.CNRLhadmaintainedsincetheleaksbeganthatwellborefailurewasthesolecauseoftheunstoppableleaksuntilearlierthismonth.Initscausationre-porttotheAERthecompanyacknowledgedsteamingcouldanothervindicationforenvi-ronmentalistswhopointedtoCNRLscyclicsteamstimula-tionCSSpracticesasbeingre-sponsiblefortheblowouts-bothcurrentandin2009whentheregulatordeterminedasimilarleakwascausedbyoverlypres-surizedundergroundsteaming.Thistechnicalreportcon-rmsthatCNRLsprojectde-signandoperationaretherootcauseofbitumenemulsioncomingtothesurfacesaidErinFlanaganofthePembinaInstituteagreenthinktank.Therstsuchow-to-surfacePhotocourtesyofCNRLCleanupcrewsworktocontainbitumenleakingthroughcracksbelowalakenearColdLakelastyearatCanadianNaturalResourcesLtd.sPrimroselease.Fissuresinthecaprockcausedbysteamingledtofourseparateleaks.beresponsibleinconjunctionwithwellborefailure.Wehavelearnedalotfromthereviewofthesein-cidentsandhaverevisedourmethodstomitigatetheriskoffutureseepagesCNRLspokespersonJulieWoodtoldTheJournalinanemail.WoodsaidCNRLhasre-ducedsteamvolumesenhanceditsmonitoringandintheeventofinfrequentsubsurfacere-leasesinthefuturenowhasanenhancedresponse.Theidentiedcausesin-dicatethatchangestosteam-ingstrategiesandenhancedmonitoringaswellasreme-diationofdefectivewellborescanpreventtheconditionsforowtosurfaceshesaid.TheAERsreportcomesaseventhappenedin2009andtheleakscurrentlyinques-tionstartedinJune2013.ThetechnicalreviewhasidentiedCNRLssteaminjectionvol-umesandwellspacingaskeycontributorstotheseleaks.Flanagansaidthendingscallintoquestionwhetherhigh-pressureCSSactivityshouldbeallowedatthePrimrosefacilityandagaincalledforabroadtechnicalreviewforCNRLsentireCSSproject.Thiswillhelpensurethatthepublicandtheenvironmentisprotectedfromtheriskofsimilaraccidentsshesaid.Theinvestigationintotheleaksisongoing.Theindepen-dentreviewpanelandthecom-panyarecontinuingtocollectandanalyzedataandwillsub-mitnalreportsinSeptember.TheAERisnotpreparedtoapproveareturntofulloperationsatthesesitesuntilallpotentialrisksareaddressedandproperrequirementsareinplacetoavoidasimilarincident.JimEllisPresidentCEOAlbertaEnergyRegulator