‘Nobody understands’ leaks at Alberta tar sands high pressure injection operation, Leaks in Cold Lake have been going on for weeks with no end in sight, according to a government scientist

As spill continues, operator contradicts details on previous incidents by Gayathrig Vvaidyanathan, August 1, 2013, E&E News

Oil leak flummoxes experts, CNRL can’t stop bitumen leaks at on Cold Lake weapons range by Terry reith, July 26, 2013, CBC News

“….that’s why this failure causes so much concern.  If this project can fail in this way in a sort of unexplained, even un-explainable kind of way, what does that mean about other types of oil and gas extraction that use high pressure injection?”

Cold Lake oil spill leaking for months: Documents by Emma Pullman, July 25, 2013, o.canada.com
Underground oil spills at an Alberta oilsands operation have been going on much longer than previously thought, according to new documents. Files released to the Toronto Star show the spills were discovered nine weeks ago, but new documents show that bitumen has been leaking since the winter. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. operates the Primrose oilsands facility three hours northeast of Edmonton where four ongoing underground oil blowouts have contaminated forest, muskeg, a lake and have already killed dozens animals including beavers, ducks and birds. According to a government scientist who has been to the site, neither government or industry are able to stop the spills. An engineering field visit conducted by CNRL in June to examine impacts from one of the four spills show oil staining over two feet up the trunks of trees, and some completely coated in oil. And based on winter snow coverage, CNRL itself estimates that oil has been leaking for over four months.

Then the Alberta Energy Regulator was asked why it failed to notify the public following the first three spills, AER spokesman Bob Curran said, “The first three incidents were quite small compared to this last one. There were no public impacts, there were negligible environmental impacts. No real trigger to put out a news release.” This contradicts the Energy Resources Conservation Board (now the AER) who ordered CNRL to “immediately suspend steam injection operations at Primrose East” on June 14, ”given the potential environmental risks” of the first three spills.

A full steaming restriction was allegedly proposed at Primrose South, the location of the most recent spill, but steaming was restricted within one kilometre of the spill on July 18. … According to publicly available AER documents filed by the company, CNRL had 18 reportable spills in 2012 in addition to 18 confirmed well casing failures in 2012.
,…
New revelations that CNRL’s spills have been ongoing since the winter have emerged just a day after a report revealed that between 1996 and 2013, only 0.9 per cent of all environmental legislation violations in the oilsands were subject to any kind of enforcement. Critics are now looking for answers about the spills. How long have they been going on? Why have local First Nations and the public been kept in the dark? And finally: Isn’t it time for a full examination of the dangers of CSS and in-situ oilsands production to measure and understand its real impacts? As industry and government scratch their heads about the identity of scientist who leaked the documents, the scientist notes, “I really hope I don’t lose my job, but I really felt that this was too important to sit on.” [Emphasis added]

Alberta oil leak cause stymies industry, scientists, Bitumen seepage killing wildlife, vegetation on Cold Lake Air Weapons Range by CBC News with files from CBC’s Terry Reith, July 25, 2013
Oil oozing out of the ground in northeast Alberta is killing wildlife and destroying vegetation, but government and industry scientists have no idea how to stop it or even what’s causing it. … Access to the site has been limited to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. scientists and government investigators, but Alberta Energy Regulator spokesman Bob Curran described the leaks as “basically cracks in the ground and bitumen emulsion is seeping out of these cracks.” He acknowledges “the challenges are basically figuring out what happened and then how to stop it.”

Critics say the most troubling aspect of the leaks is they call into question the whole process of extracting oil by steam, which is how most oil in Alberta is produced.

Oil industry watchdog Chris Severson-Baker, with the Alberta-based Pembina Institute, points to an investigation of a similar spill in 2009 which failed to pinpoint the cause. “The assumption is that companies and the regulators have a very good understanding of how much pressure the underground formations can tolerate, and yet this project is showing that we don’t know as much as we think we know and that could affect the credibility of other types of technologies that use high pressure,” he said. “It represents just a total failure of that project design. And if this project can fail in this way in an unexplained or even unexplainable kind of way – what does that mean about other types of oil and gas extraction [that] use high pressure injection?” … Company officials turned down our request to speak about the spill.

CNRL steam operations suspended after spills, Greenpeace speaks out about the extent of damage caused by the spill by Andrew Mendler, July 23, 2013, Bonnyville Nouvelle.ca
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has ordered a series of restrictions for the CNRL Primrose and Wolf Lake project sites in a response to several recent incidents involving bitumen released to the surface and into a body of water, according to an AER press release issued July 18. … In response to new details regarding the extent and ongoing nature of the spill in a story published on TheStar.com, Greenpeace campaigner Mike Hudema said, “The Alberta Energy Regulator sent an update on this tar sands spill on Thursday that failed to mention that tar sands bitumen was still spilling into the environment, that over 30 animals have already died and that the company doesn’t know how to stop it.” He continued, “This reeks of a cover-up. We once again see the Alberta government and the provincial regulators hiding critical information from the public. It is completely unacceptable for the Alberta regulator to fail to give the public key details and to communicate that a tar sands spill is under control when it clearly isn’t. We need an independent energy regulator that gives full, timely information, provides pictures, and puts the health of communities and the environment first. No one will take Alberta’s ‘world class’ claims seriously as long as oil industry profits continue to trump the public interest.” [Emphasis added]

CNRL oil spill in Cold Lake on the Cold Lake Air Weapons range, the Primrose project Press Release by Keepers of the Athabasca and Keepers of the Water, July 24, 2013
As indigenous tribal societies, regardless of where we live on this continent we have a moral duty to protect mother earth. …  The CNRL spill is of great concern to us, as it impacts all of the above.  The leaderships of the neighboring First Nations have not been given access to do their own assessments of the spill or the site.  This is unacceptable.  We must know firsthand, what is really going on at this oil spill.  The last report we have is that oil is seeping up from underground at the site of CNRL’s Cyclic Steam Extraction (CSS) operation. We are also told that the spill has been killing wildlife, birds and land, and the spill cannot be stopped at this time and that the company will just ‘let nature run its course’.  Reports we have received is that this spill has been ongoing for 10 weeks as it was first reported on May 21st, 2013. There is a concern about contamination of both surface and groundwater in the area.  It seems at this time that the Company, and the Government of Alberta are not taking the protection of groundwater seriously, to allow these types of incidents to occur for so long. ….

In response to a call out for help, a rally has been planned in Calgary, at the CNRL (Canadian Natural Resources Ltd) head office on Thursday, July 25th at 12 noon.  Where members of the Cold Lake First Nations, other Nations and allies will come together to ask for answers. [Emphasis added]

Keepers of the Water Declaration 2006
‘Water is Sacred’

Sam Gargan – Keepers of the Water
(867) 699-3171

Jesse Cardinal- Keepers of the Athabasca
(780) 404-5315

The Rachel Maddow Show on the Primose bitumen blowout July 24, 2013

2013 07 24 Rachel Maddow on Primose bitumen blowout in Canada

2013 07 24 Rachel Maddow on Primose bitumen blowout in Canada snap 2

2013 07 24 Rachel Maddow on Primose bitumen blowout in Canada snap 4

2013 07 24 Rachel Maddow on Primose bitumen blowout in Canada snap 5

2013 07 24 Rachel Maddow on fossil fuel disaster another explosion in the Gulf

2013 07 24 Rachel Maddow natural gas spewing from blowout n the Gulf

2013 07 24 Rachel Maddow on fossil fuel disasters House Panel approves EPA  budget cut by one third

2013 07 24 Rachel Maddow on fossil fuel disasters House Panel approves less than a third for energy efficiency and renewable energy

Above snaps from The Rachel Maddow Show, July 24, 2013

CNRL steam operations suspended after spills, Greenpeace speaks out about the extent of damage caused by the spill by Andrew Mendler, July 23, 2013, Bonnyville Nouvelle.ca
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has ordered a series of restrictions for the CNRL Primrose and Wolf Lake project sites in a response to several recent incidents involving bitumen released to the surface and into a body of water, according to an AER press release issued July 18. … In response to new details regarding the extent and ongoing nature of the spill in a story published on TheStar.com, Greenpeace campaigner Mike Hudema said, “The Alberta Energy Regulator sent an update on this tar sands spill on Thursday that failed to mention that tar sands bitumen was still spilling into the environment, that over 30 animals have already died and that the company doesn’t know how to stop it.” He continued, “This reeks of a cover-up. We once again see the Alberta government and the provincial regulators hiding critical information from the public. It is completely unacceptable for the Alberta regulator to fail to give the public key details and to communicate that a tar sands spill is under control when it clearly isn’t. We need an independent energy regulator that gives full, timely information, provides pictures, and puts the health of communities and the environment first. No one will take Alberta’s ‘world class’ claims seriously as long as oil industry profits continue to trump the public interest.” [Emphasis added]

The Alberta Oil Sands Have Been Leaking for 9 Weeks by Thomas Stackpole, July 23, 2013, Mother Jones
The impacted area spans some 30 acres of swampy forest, said Bob Curran, a spokesperson for the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER), which oversees these sites. … Curran confirmed to Mother Jones that the leak was ongoing as of Tuesday afternoon and said AER was working with the company on a plan to contain the damage. He added that he couldn’t make a firm assessment of what caused the leak until after AER had completed its investigation. “We don’t get into probable causes,” he explained. But he did say that AER was concerned, adding that the leak was “very uncommon—which is why we’ve responded the way we have.” … But unlike the tar sand mines that have scarred the landscape of northern Alberta and added fuel to the Keystone XL controversy, the Primrose site injects millions of gallons of pressurized steam hundreds of feet into the ground to heat and loosen the heavy, viscous tar, and then pumps it out, using a process called cyclic steam stimulation (CSS). Eighty percent of the bitumen that can currently be extracted is only accessible through steam extraction. (CSS is one of a few methods of steam extraction.) Although steam extraction has been touted as more environmentally friendly, it has also been shown to release more CO2 than its savage-looking cousin.

There have been accidents before with steam injection mining. At another kind of steam injection site, the high pressure at which the steam is injected exceeded what the terrain could bear and blasted wild-looking craters, hundreds of feet wide, into the landscape. Curran said that although the current leak is extremely unusual, a similar—but smaller—incident occurred at Primrose back in 2009. In that case, tar started bubbled out of “thin fissures” in the ground near the wellhead. According to a report from the Energy Resources Conservation Board—an oversight agency that was folded into AER last year—new limits on steam pressure were imposed, and extraction was allowed to resume. But on May 21, something new went wrong at the Primrose site. According to Curran, springs of watery bitumen started popping up, seeping out of the earth. When the first three appeared, AER shut down nearby steam injection. When a fourth appeared in a body of water close by, AER shut down all injection within a kilometer of the leaks, and curtailed adjacent steaming operations. “The first three are just leaking right there at the surface,” Curran says. “Small cracks in the ground, just kind of bubbling out.”

It’s unclear what long-term consequences might result from the spill. “They don’t know where this emulsion has gone, whether it has impacted groundwater,” says Chris Severson-Baker, managing director of the Pembina Institute, a nonprofit group that studies the impacts of tar sand mining. According to Severson-Baker, the question is what will happen if the geology at Primrose is to blame. “[If] the problem is inherent to the project itself, are they going to remove the permits for the project?” Even so, he claims the damage might already be done. “At this point, what can actually be done to prevent the impact from continuing to occur? I don’t think there is anything that can be done.” [Emphasis added]

Canexus Corporation Announces Cold Lake Blend Delivery Agreements to Unit Train Loading Facility and Multi-year Terminal Services Agreement, Corporation Guaranteed Capacity Allotment of up to 100,000 Barrels per Day by Market Wired, July 22, 2013, Market Watch
Canexus Corporation CA:CUS -1.36% (the “Corporation” or “Canexus”) today announced that it has entered into long-term agreements with Inter Pipeline Fund (“Inter Pipeline”) and Inter Pipeline Polaris Inc. for the delivery of bitumen blend from the Cold Lake pipeline system to Canexus’ Bruderheim Terminal for loading into unit trains. Under the terms of the agreements, Canexus will be guaranteed a capacity allotment of up to 100,000 barrels of Cold Lake Blend pipeline delivery per day. “These agreements complement the Canexus agreement with MEG Energy Corp. that was announced last December to facilitate delivery of Access Western Blend to our Bruderheim Terminal”, said Mr. Gary Kubera, President and Chief Executive Officer. “With multiple oil assays available from a portfolio of producers, the terminal becomes a strategic centre for originating large scale oil shipments by rail from Alberta.” … Canexus also announced today that it has entered into a multi-year agreement with Cenovus Energy Inc. for bitumen blend pipeline receiving and unit train loading services at the Bruderheim Terminal. [Emphasis added]

First Nation member angry about bitumen leak on Cold Lake Weapons Range by Travis Dosser, July 21, 2013, Inews880AM
She says the Alberta Energy Regulator release doesn’t even say the spill has been capped off. “What we’re being told from people on the inside, I do have friends that are working there as part of the cleanup crew, is that what they are saying and what the government is say are two very different things,” explains Lameman. … No cause for the spill has been released at this point and the site is using a type of extraction that is called situ methods, which heat oil shale underground and inject hot fluids into the rock formation or using thermal conduction. Lameman says as a Treaty Status First Nation person she feels her rights and treaties are being violated as she is not being allowed in her ancestor’s traditional hunting ground. “We should have free access to it as treaty status Indians and we have no access to it and we can’t trust what we’re being told now,” explains Lameman. The site is on land traditional belonging to the Beaver Lake Cree First Nation. The First Nation is pursuing a constitutional challenge that argues the impacts of the oil sands are infringing their treaty rights to hunt, fish and trap. “A poor apology that says we’re sorry that some animals have died but we’ve got it under control now, my understanding is it is not under control and it is still spilling,” explains Lameman. [Emphasis added]

‘Nobody understands’ spills at Alberta oil sands operation, Oil spills at an oil sands operation in Cold Lake, Alberta have been going on for weeks with no end in sight, according to a government scientist by Emma Pullman and Martin Lukacs, July 19, 2013, Special to the Toronto Star
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. has been unable to stop an underground oil blowout that has killed numerous animals and contaminated a lake, forest, and muskeg at its operations in Cold Lake, Alta. The documents indicate that, since cleanup started in May, some 26,000 barrels of bitumen mixed with surface water have been removed, including more than 4,500 barrels of bitumen. The scientist said Canadian Natural Resources is not disclosing the scope of spills in four separate sites, which have been off bounds to media and the public because the operations are on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range, where there is active weapons testing by the Canadian military. The company says it is effectively managing and cleaning up the spills. “The areas have been secured and the emulsion is being managed with clean up, recovery and reclamation activities well underway. The presence of emulsion on the surface does not pose a health or human safety risk. The sites are located in a remote area which has restricted access to the public. The emulsion is being effectively cleaned up with manageable environmental impact,” the company said in a statement. The documents and photos show dozens of animals, including beavers and loons, have died, and that 30,600 kg of oily vegetation has been cleared from the latest of the four spill zones.

The company’s operations use an “in situ” or underground extraction technology called “cyclic steam stimulation,” which involves injecting thousands of gallons of superhot, high-pressure steam into deep underground reservoirs. This heats and liquefies the hard bitumen and creates cracks through which the bitumen flows and is then pumped to the surface. The scientist, who asked not to be named for fear of losing their job, said the operation was in chaos. “Everybody (at the company and in government) is freaking out about this,” said the scientist. “We don’t understand what happened. Nobody really understands how to stop it from leaking, or if they do they haven’t put the measures into place.” In response to emailed questions from the Star, Canadian Natural Resources said it was co-operating with the regulator. “We are investigating the likely cause of the occurrence, which we believe to be mechanical,” the company said. “Canadian Natural has existing groundwater monitoring in place and we are undertaking aquatic and sediment sampling to monitor and mitigate any potential impacts. As part of our wildlife mitigation program, wildlife deterrents have been deployed in the area to protect wildlife. “We are saddened that unfortunately some animal fatalities occurred between the time of the incident and the deployment of our animal deterrent systems. All of the fatalities have been reported to the Alberta Energy Regulator.” The company added that it has “taken appropriate steps to ensure no additional impact to wildlife or the environment and that the incident site is reclaimed.” Canadian Natural Resources did not respond to the charge that they aren’t disclosing the scope of the spills.

Oil companies have said in situ methods are more environmentally friendly than the open-pit mining often associated with the Alberta oil sands, but in situ is more carbon and water-intensive. “In the course of injecting steam they’ve created fractures from the reservoir to the surface that they didn’t expect,” said the scientist, who is speaking out over concern that neither the company nor Alberta’s regulatory bodies would properly address the situation. On Thursday, the Alberta Energy Regulator confirmed there were four spills in the last few months, and ordered Canadian Natural Resources to restrict its steam injections and enhance monitoring at the operations in Cold Lake. Regulator official Bob Curran said the latest spill is spread across 40 hectares. Canadian Natural Resources disputed that figure Friday. “We have the mapped area impacted to be significantly less than 40 hectares with the area being reduced daily through effective cleanup efforts,” the company said. Critics say such spills raise questions about the safety and viability of in situ extraction, which by 2020 is expected to account for as much as 40 per cent of Canada’s oil sands production, because many of Alberta’s deposits cannot be mined. “This is a new kind of oil spill and there is no ‘off button,’ ” said Keith Stewart, an energy analyst with Greenpeace who teaches a course on energy policy and environment at the University of Toronto. “You can’t cap it like a conventional oil well or turn off a valve on a pipeline. “You are pressurizing the oil bed so hard that it’s no wonder that it blows out. This means that the oil will continue to leak until the well is no longer pressurized,” which means the bitumen could be seeping from the ground for months.

The company said the process is sound and has a good track record over 30 years in Alberta. It said that nevertheless it is reviewing its wellbores “to enhance wellbore integrity and modify steaming strategies to prevent the remote possibility of these events in the future.” [Emphasis added]

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. Primrose East Bitumen Emulsion Release January 3, 2009 ERCB Investigation Report January 8, 2013
Pressure and temperature measurements showed poroelastic effects on the Bonnyville Aquifer. The data collected from the monitoring wells near the surface fissures were difficult to interpret due to poroelastic effects on both the fracture and the aquifer. … CNRL proposed three release scenarios to explain the data collected from delineation drilling after the incident. While none of these scenarios entirely matches the data, it is likely that the Clearwater shale was breached by high-pressure steam injection not related to a wellbore issue, the Grand Rapids Formation water sands did not act as a diverter, and a pathway through the Colorado Group was found that likely involved a wellbore or a series of preexisting faults. [Emphasis added]

2009 snap from ERCB investigation report CNRL high pressure emulsion release at Cold Lake Alberta

2009 snap 2 from ERCB investigation report CNRL high pressure emulsion release at Cold Lake Alberta

Source of above snaps: ERCB (now AER) Investigation Report into the 2009 seep to surface

Steam ban won’t hurt output, says Canadian Natural, Fourth release of “bitumen emulsion” prompts Primrose curtailment by Dan Healing, July 18, 2013, Calgary Herald
Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. says a ban on high-pressure steaming at its 109,000-barrel-per-day Primrose oilsands project won’t affect 2013 production guidance because it has finished steaming for the year. On Thursday, the Alberta Energy Regulator said it has ordered the Calgary-based major producer to stop steaming formations on part of its Primrose South project and on its entire Primrose East acreage because of four recent surface releases of “bitumen emulsion” from underground. A spill affecting 40 hectares of land at Primrose South was reported June 24 to the AER and was subject of an AER news release a few days later. On Thursday, the AER said CNRL has been ordered not to steam any wells within one kilometre of the spill. For the first time Thursday, the AER reported that CNRL had also been ordered in June to suspend steaming at its Primrose East project because of three releases of bitumen emulsion to the surface there this spring. It reported a similar release there in 2009. Both projects are on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range in northeastern Alberta. They use steam to melt the bitumen and allow it to pool in wells, then turn the steam off to pump out the bitumen. “Canadian Natural had finished our steaming cycles in both Primrose East and Primrose South and are now in the production cycles,” the company stated in an e-mail response to a Herald inquiry. “For Primrose South, we wouldn’t be back into the area with steam until Q1 2014. For Primrose East, the next steam wave through would be for 2014 volumes. Therefore, 2013 has minimal impact and steaming could resume in time for 2014.” Primrose total output is listed at 109,000 barrels per day on its website, with 40,000 bpd of capacity at Primrose East.

In its news release, AER chief executive Jim Ellis said the regulator imposed steaming restrictions on Primrose East, North and South while it investigates the bitumen releases. “Although there have been no risks to public safety, until we investigate these incidents, better understand the cause of these releases, and what steps CNRL will to take to prevent them, we are taking these measures as a precaution,” he said. AER spokesman Bob Curran said the Primrose East steaming suspension was ordered June 14 and has not been lifted, nor is there any indication of when it will be. Chris Severson-Baker, managing director of the environmental Pembina Institute, said he’s “shocked” that the project has had multiple failures and said the regulator should be shutting it down entirely. “The whole point of these types of operations is that the pressure is set at a level so that the steam stays in the formation,” he said. “You should never get fluid and pressures building up to the point that they leak out. That’s obviously what’s happening here. These are worse than spills.”

Greenpeace campaigner Mike Hudema said the lack of information about the June 24 spill from either the province or the company is “troubling.” “The fact that we’re just learning now that this is the fourth spill from this site, we still don’t know what the damage is, if this spill is still happening or not, there are definitely a lot of unanswered questions,” he said. “It raises concerns about how much we know about this kind of technology and are we doing everything we can to make sure it’s being used safely.” He said the fact that the spills are taking place on the weapons range makes it even harder for the public to learn what’s happening and called on the government and the company to release detailed information, including site pictures. The Primrose South spill has killed several animals, including waterfowl, shrews, beaver, frogs and tadpoles, said Jessica Potter, a spokeswoman for Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development. She said the department is monitoring cleanup at the site and may recommend penalties if it determines environmental laws have been broken. The release fouled a body of water that CNRL initially described as “approximately 10 acres” (four hectares) of slough. According to the AER, it initially estimated the spill volume as 175 barrels of bitumen and about 800 barrels of oily vegetation. Curran said Thursday the spill area has been updated to about 40 hectares of land but there has been no revision in its volume. CNRL’s investor relations department stated in an earlier e-mail Thursday that it is “investigating the likely cause of the occurrence, which we believe to be mechanical.” Curran said two small surface releases were reported May 20 at Primrose East and a third discovered while searching the area was reported June 8. He had no estimate of their volumes. In 2009, CNRL reported another bitumen emulsion release from underground at Primrose East. Cleanup resulted in more than 11,000 tonnes of snow, organic material, soil and bitumen being sent to the landfill for disposal and 7,500 barrels of bitumen being recovered and taken to CNRL’s Wolf Lake plant for processing. In a report earlier this year, the AER predecessor Energy Resources Conservation Board said an investigation could not identify a specific cause for the seepage but it allowed the company to continue to operate while monitoring and restricting steaming. AER said high pressure cyclic steam stimulation has been used in oil recovery in Alberta for more than 30 years. It said the heat softens the bitumen while water dilutes and separates the bitumen from the sand. The pressure creates cracks and openings through which the bitumen can flow back into the steam-injector wells. [Emphasis added]

Bitumen well blows out near Conklin by CBC News July 12, 2013
A blowout occurred Saturday at a bitumen well in northeastern Alberta. The steam release leak was discovered around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday and stopped by midnight Sunday. The well, located near Conklin, is part of the Jackfish project owned by Devon Energy Corporation. The Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board [ERCB] is now investigating. No one was hurt in the blowout and the board says the public was not in any danger. The company is not sure how much bitumen was released as a result of the blowout. “It went up into the air above the lease and then landed on the lease,” said company spokeswoman Nadine Barber. “There was some spray that may have migrated outside of the lease but all that is being determined right now with Alberta Environment and the ERCB and our own folks.” Steam is mixed with bitumen in the well to make it easier to bring the bitumen to the surface. The material that was released was a mix of 70 per cent water and 30 per cent bitumen. The environmental impact of the leak isn’t known, Barber said. Devon is working with the ERCB and other government agencies to ensure it meets proper remediation standards. The site should take about two to three weeks to clean up, Barber said.

Primrose oil leak spreads over four hectares, Canadian Natural says bitumen emulsion won’t affect production by Dan Healing, July 2, 2013, Calgary Herald
“Bitumen emulsion” seeping from underground has affected some four hectares of slough at Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.’s Primrose thermal oilsands project in northeastern Alberta, the company said Friday. In an e-mail reply to a Calgary Herald inquiry, the company said the mixture of heavy oil and water was discovered on Monday near Pad 22 on its Primrose thermal in situ oilsands project located on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range. “The cause of the occurrence is unknown and we are in the process of investigating,” the statement says. “The area has been secured and the emulsion is being contained with cleanup and recovery activities underway.” Late Thursday, the Alberta Energy Regulator said in a news release the incident had been reported and no one had been injured. Neither the AER or the company could estimate how much emulsion has been found on the surface. The incident appears similar to one that occurred at the same project on Jan. 3, 2009. According to a report issued earlier this year by AER’s predecessor, the Energy Resources Conservation Board, the earlier spill resulted in more than 11,000 tonnes of snow, organic material, soil and bitumen being sent to the landfill for disposal. It said 7,500 barrels of bitumen were recovered and taken to CNRL’s Wolf Lake plant for processing. What the report did not contain was a specific cause for the seepage — CNRL was allowed to continue to operate the project with limits on its steam injection volumes per cycle and the requirement to monitor pressure in the formation and adjust steam injection or cut it off as necessary. “That was on Primrose East, this is Primrose South,” said AER spokesman Bob Curran. “But clearly it’s the same project area.” He said CNRL is focused on reducing underground pressure in the oilsands formation from which they are producing to stop the slow leak. The Primrose project uses CSS or cyclic steam stimulation, also called “huff and puff,” where steam is injected under pressure into the formation to melt the heavy, sticky oil, then shut off while the warmed oil is pumped out. Then the process is repeated.

In its release, the AER said the oil found this week was actually off CNRL’s lease site. “The AER is on site and will continue to work with the company, Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development and other agencies to ensure that the incident is controlled, contained, and all appropriate cleanup and mitigation measures take place,” it said. CNRL said it has an existing groundwater monitoring network in place, adding provincial officials are taking water samples and wildlife deterrents have been deployed in the area. CNRL also said the situation has not affected overall production at Primrose, nor does it expect a change in thermal in situ annual production guidance, set on its website at 100,000 to 107,000 barrels per day in 2013.

Alberta Energy Regulator responding to emulsion release in Cold Lake News Release by the AER, June 27, 2013, (AERNR2013-17)
The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) is responding to a release of bitumen emulsion to surface at a high pressure cyclic steam project on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range. The project, known as Primrose, is operated by Canadian Natural Resources Limited. The affected area is off lease and has impacted a nearby slough. The company has begun clean-up operations. There were no injuries as a result of the release. The volume of emulsion released has not been confirmed at this time. The AER is onsite and will continue to work with the company, Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development and other agencies to ensure that the incident is controlled, contained, and all appropriate clean up and mitigation measures take place. The AER is conducting an investigation into the cause of the incident. All information is preliminary and may be changed as updates are available. During an incident, the AER works with the company, local authority, and other provincial agencies to coordinate efficient and effective response by all parties involved. The AER expects the responsible party to respond immediately and effectively to all energy incidents and to limit impacts to the public, property, and the environment. The AER will hold the responsible party accountable for the incident and its impacts. The Alberta Energy Regulator ensures the safe, efficient, orderly, and environmentally responsible development of hydrocarbon resources over their entire life cycle. This includes allocating and conserving water resources, managing public lands, and protecting the environment while providing economic benefits for all Albertans.

[Refer also to:

New Report: Less than 1-percent of Tar Sands Environmental Infractions Penalized by Alberta’s “Best in the World,” “World-Class,” “No Duty of Care,” spying and lying and law violating ERCB (now AER)

In famous flaming water case, regulator to argue ‘no duty of care’ to landowners or groundwater

FrackingCanada No Duty of Care ]

This entry was posted in Global Frac News. Bookmark the permalink.