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http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com ... -and-pipeline-spill
* H9 u/ g9 A- `4 |6 W+ K: x5 K' jNexen 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.' d. R. f4 X7 t% c. b7 P% v
5 A h. k0 ?2 z& SThe 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, 2016.1 Q0 T5 b, w; ^' q! c
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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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An 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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# U0 _& u& s" |3 e" bThe 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. 7 U3 L* F1 R. ]! k( S7 I6 o' l
& Z' [# K0 s P2 ]: @% NThe 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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7 y2 d+ Q( z6 cThe 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.- `( U0 y0 i+ \
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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."* J+ p9 n1 Q) z
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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. 5 K. k0 [- S! S4 C; e
8 J* ?* o* ~8 b5 [- T# nThe 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. 6 C1 j! c9 c+ P' ?
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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. 7 e0 u" |0 R. L1 n; `
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- with files from Vincent McDermott |
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