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http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com ... -and-pipeline-spill! t, U: Y5 u, P* U- S
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.
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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.
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$ A8 E) l- z2 I4 s3 L pAn internal investigation found the explosion was a result of work being performed that was "outside of the scope of approved work activities."! H6 H( x k1 J: p6 P5 V" o. x. E
$ i N& W- Q' H9 ]# y2 [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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& X9 U4 g+ O& Z. R$ e9 r" wIn its announcement Nexen said it is addressing safety gaps in part with refresher training on workplace hazard identification, increased site supervision and safety inspections. % V$ O( `- X! g; |3 \4 N9 a) }. d
0 Z! ?( p; M b* v9 z: f4 pThe 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.1 c. ]( b% X# ~1 u" w$ O5 L0 G( T7 m
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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."
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) r2 K5 K1 B: w3 {* d3 OThis 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. 6 r5 s/ z8 A! p$ _" M5 Y
* y% T+ b9 ^" ?% F2 |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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7 Q% v1 @# ]; _( T1 c- with files from Vincent McDermott |
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