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http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com ... -and-pipeline-spill
1 Z- \4 \: h' p: o ]Nexen 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.9 V& m6 w( @" P i0 T8 i
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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.
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The 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.- q- w& ~! F0 T9 W: p+ o4 Z
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An internal investigation found the explosion was a result of work being performed that was "outside of the scope of approved work activities."8 y% c- J1 r/ [" y% G$ P
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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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The 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. 7 b6 \2 }: K/ K
: b/ Q( s8 ]1 F X! y9 gThe 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.4 [' j+ Z" X1 V" _% |
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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."# R) Y" l- y8 L4 ^ B4 T
' N" b" ~9 l* v2 b* S6 j/ \This 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. . C' p% K7 r Z, s6 Y
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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.
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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. . y9 L) p0 D( _( Q+ c: m
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- with files from Vincent McDermott |
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