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http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com ... -and-pipeline-spill
2 v; i$ {) m! f( ?" T- BNexen Energy will lay off about 350 workers from its Long Lake facility, following its release of results of internal investigations into a July 2015 pipeline spill and the January 2016 hydrocracker explosion.: N2 Z0 |$ h. `" \
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The CNOOC-owned energy company will only be continuing its steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operations at Long Lake, after it determined a short-term repair was not possible for the hydrocracker unit, which killed two employees when it exploded on Jan. 15, 2016.0 r4 [4 G6 H5 |/ F6 {
; ?5 F) q, e" A" CThe facility's upgrader has been idling since then, and will be moved into winter preservation, with no estimation of when it will be brought back into service.
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3 m7 H! {( J H1 G* XAn internal investigation found the explosion was a result of work being performed that was "outside of the scope of approved work activities."
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: S; X/ ? [! B+ t4 ^The two employees killed, both Fort McMurray residents, were 52-year-old Drew Foster and 30-year-old Dave Williams. Foster was killed in the explosion. Williams, who was flown to the University of Alberta Hospital's burn unit hours after the explosion, died a week later.
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In its announcement Nexen said it is addressing safety gaps in part with refresher training on workplace hazard identification, increased site supervision and safety inspections.
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9 d7 X. R+ A$ m5 QThe decision to move to a SAGD-only operation was described as "entirely economic," and will result in about 350 staff layoffs, most of which will be completed by the end of 2016.
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0 l- M5 J/ [8 c7 V% IThe results of the investigations were given at a news conference on Tuesday by Nexen CEO Fang Zhi and Senior Vice President of Canadian Operation Ron Bailey.
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9 c7 o7 H# T" j1 E. ` R0 |Nexen also said it found the root cause of a July 2015 emulsion spill at Long Lake to be a "thermally-driven upheaval buckling of the pipeline, and the subsequent cooldown during the turnaround."
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' ?& ?1 m. _6 j2 hThis was caused because of pipeline design incompatible with the muskeg ground conditions, and steps that could have been taken to mitigate the potential for buckling were not addressed. p u- m4 B4 E6 s! v
+ b' F+ ?* z& S$ z! N( {The spill poured up to five million litres of emulsion - a mixture of water, bitumen and sand - into surrounding muskeg. The spill may have been ongoing for up to two weeks when it was discovered in July 2015 by a contractor walking through the area. ; q% U6 l( A4 G
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In August the Alberta Energy Regulator ordered Nexen to shut down 95 pipelines until the company could prove the pipelines could be operated responsibly. The suspension was lifted in September 2015.
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" |- h1 ^4 X! o, d: r; R- with files from Vincent McDermott |
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