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http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com ... -and-pipeline-spill
1 |& V- L; n% J8 aNexen 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.
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: y8 l0 p2 `) S. [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.& y q/ s5 u3 ^
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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.", Q. k! a* y; c$ O. `0 a: u
, t, R: I9 Z9 Z2 w" K8 n) W" QThe 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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: X" i: E9 `- j4 S; yThe 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. 9 n0 e) e T: [/ \ b
3 y" R S6 \3 f( V. i! k) lThe 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./ _6 ~' m. `4 ?) j8 l1 Q
* m! R% | Z$ O9 P7 [/ N! YNexen 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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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.
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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. 6 f+ l6 F' K7 f% N
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- with files from Vincent McDermott |
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发表于 2016-7-12 18:01
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