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http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com ... -and-pipeline-spill5 |7 _: z v, y) ?( E# X7 A
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.! ?6 E+ D" j/ ~2 g9 g5 R) k
0 B8 Z8 a" u9 v( k+ ?) d* cThe 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 p+ e4 Y5 G; o* [( v
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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.
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& P* B9 I: L, M0 o# P# nAn internal investigation found the explosion was a result of work being performed that was "outside of the scope of approved work activities."6 t; q. M+ V6 q
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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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0 l0 ], x9 E! S! A5 I- M) P2 ZIn 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.
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The 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.; x% w5 T1 o0 D3 e: y" ?
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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."! e8 a b3 C# q& ^
% m1 ^# L0 P4 P8 ^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. ! Q$ q2 {1 |8 r# r
& o: }. _3 C+ T) D4 L0 ~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.
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1 W& b7 _, X8 N" s9 b3 O- with files from Vincent McDermott |
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