NEXEN BLAMES WORKERS for major explosion that killed two at tarsands SAGD steam injection site near Fort McMurray

Nexen says worker error led to deadly blast, reveals design flaws led to pipeline rupture by Reid Southwick, July 12, 2016, Calgary Herald

Nexen Energy said a deadly explosion at its oilsands facility in January was caused by employees and exposed “gaps in our safety culture,” which the company vowed Tuesday to rectify.

The Calgary subsidiary of Chinese oil firm CNOOC Ltd. also revealed a pipeline rupture at its Long Lake facility was the result of poor design and other failures that went undetected. [Or used intentionally to shave costs and increase profits as often happens under “self regulation” by huge corporations?]

“When we fail to live up to our own high standards of safety and environment, we let ourselves, our employees and the communities where we operate down,” Fang Zhi, Nexen’s chief executive, told reporters. “This is not acceptable.”

Nexen workers Dave Williams and Drew Foster had been changing valves at a hydrocracker at Nexen’s Long Lake facility Jan. 15 when the explosion occurred. Foster was declared dead at the scene while Williams suffered serious burns and later died in hospital.

The company said Tuesday its investigation revealed the blast was caused by employees working outside of their approved scope of duties at the hydrocracker, which is part of the facility’s bitumen upgrader.

Ron Bailey, senior vice-president of Canadian operations, declined to offer details on what workers did wrong and why they were allowed to it, noting investigations by government authorities are not complete.

“Work was ongoing on the hydrocracker unit itself; the scope was clearly defined and work was being done outside of that scope,” Bailey said. [Inadequate training by Nexen to cut costs and increase profits?]

Occupational Health and Safety has finished the on-site portion of its investigation, though it continues to impose an order banning operations of the hydrocracker compressor and related equipment until the authority is satisfied repairs are complete and operations can resume safely.

OHS has up to two years to complete its investigation.

After concluding a short-term fix is not feasible, Nexen said the entire upgrader will remain idle with no planned date to restart it into full service.

While Zhi again extended his “deepest sympathies” to the families of the dead workers, the CEO also apologized for the environmental impact caused by a pipeline rupture that spilled an estimated five million litres of bitumen, water and sand at Nexen’s Long Lake project in mid-2015.

The company’s investigation found the rupture occurred June 11, 2015, but it wasn’t discovered for more than a month, on July 15. The investigation revealed flaws in the pipeline design and failures to properly detect it. [Rather common occurrence it seems, in the oil and gas industry?]

The pipeline buckled and cooled, causing the rupture, but nobody noticed for weeks because of “shortcomings” in the facility’s leak-detection system “and our ability to manage the system,” Bailey said. [Is Nexen too cheap to operate facilities properly?]

“A number of deficiencies in engineering and construction and operating performance were identified, for which we take accountability,” Bailey said. “The findings also indicate a number of failings on the part of our contractors and subcontractors during the design, construction and installation of the pipeline.

“Future capital projects will undergo a far more rigorous selection process when choosing contractors and subcontractors.” [Really? Where have we heard that a thousand time before? What have AER staff being doing with their grossly excessive salaries and perks?]

Nexen executives declined to name the other companies they believe were responsible for the failure, and ducked questions about any disciplinary action it has taken against its own workers. [Upper management for cutting corners feeding greed?]

“We as an organization take full accountability for this,” Zhi said, adding the company has taken steps to avoid a similar incident, such as competency requirements for operations personnel responsible for new pipelines.

There were also questions about the regulator’s role in approving the pipeline’s licence and monitoring its operations.

Asked whether the Alberta Energy Regulator shared any responsibility for the rupture, spokesman Ryan Bartlett said: “It’s the licensees’ responsibility to operate within requirements and to ensure that the environment and public safety are protected.”

The regulator is conducting its own investigation into the rupture, but Bartlett said he couldn’t say when its findings will be released. [Eighteen years from now, when everyone’s forgotten about it? Emphasis added]

Man burned in Nexen explosion dies in Edmonton hospital with files from John Law, Niagara Falls Review, Postmedia News, January 25, 2016, Edmonton Journal 
A Fort McMurray man who spent nearly a week in an Edmonton burn unit after a fatal explosion at Nexen’s Long Lake facility has died, bringing the death toll to two.

Friends have confirmed that Dave Williams, 28, died Monday afternoon, after he was admitted to the University hospital’s burn unit Jan. 15, after the explosion.

Williams is originally from Scotchtown, N.S., and his cousin, Kelly MacEachran, told the Cape Breton Post that he returned to Nova Scotia often.

Williams’ family had travelled to Edmonton to be with him during his final days.

“He always has a smile on his face and he’s the nicest guy you’d ever meet,” said MacEachran. “He’s a hard worker and just loves life.”

At the time of the explosion, Williams was changing valves at the site’s hydrocracker with Drew Foster, 52, a fellow Nexen employee. Foster died on scene.

The explosion occurred at Long Lake’s hydrocracker, part of the upgrader. The hydrocracker combines hydrogen with partially upgraded bitumen to remove sulphur during the production of synthetic crude oil.

After the deadly blast, Williams was transported to the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre in critical condition. He was later flown to Edmonton.

According to his Facebook page, Foster left Niagara Falls, Ont. for Alberta in 2013. His family joined him in February 2014. “Really going to miss this place and all of our family and friends,” he wrote before leaving Ontario.

Two fundraising pages have been created to support the families of the men. As of Tuesday morning, a GoFundMe page to support Williams’ family had raised $20,300. Fundraising efforts to support Foster’s widow and children had raised $23,655.

The day after the explosion, Nexen CEO Fang Zhi called the incident “one of the darkest days in Nexen’s history” and apologized to the families.

The investigation into the explosion is ongoing and a cause has yet to be determined. The site has been shut down until further notice.

Victim identified in fatal northern Alberta oilsands plant explosion by Jana G. Pruden, January 15, 2016, Edmonton Journal

The man killed in an explosion at a northern Alberta oilsands plant has been identified as Drew Foster, 52.

Foster was killed and another man critically injured in an explosion at the Nexen facility in Long Lake, south of Fort McMurray, on Friday. Officials with Nexen Energy say the accident has left the entire company “reeling.”

“Yesterday marked one of the darkest days in Nexen’s history,” Nexen CEO Fang Zhi said during a press conference in Calgary on Saturday. “Standing here today to share this type of information is the worst thing a CEO ever wants to do. But no matter how badly we feel, it pales in comparison to the pain two of our employees’ families are experiencing.”

The Calgary-based Nexen is a subsidiary of China’s state-owned CNOOC Ltd., after being acquired by CNOOC more than two years ago.

According to information from Nexen and Alberta Occupational Health and Safety, the explosion occurred as the two men were changing valves on a compressor inside a building at Nexen’s Long Lake facility about 3:20 p.m. Friday.

Foster died at the scene. The other man was taken to hospital in Fort McMurray, then flown by helicopter to the burn unit at University Hospital in Edmonton. The men’s names have not been released by the company, but Foster has been identified by his family, media, and by friends and relatives online as the victim.

A GoFundMe page set up Sunday morning raised about $12,000 for the family in nine hours.

It has been a troubled few months at the Long Lake facility.

The plant was the scene of a major pipeline rupture last summer, when a year-old pipe leaked five million litres of emulsion, containing bitumen and water, into muskeg, and a warning system designed to detect ruptures failed.

In that case, the Alberta Energy Regulator found Nexen was not complying with pipeline maintenance and monitoring regulations. It issued a suspension order which closed the site. The order was lifted in September.

About 60 employees were laid off from the plant in November, in job cuts the company said would improve the plant’s technical and operational performance.

Asked whether having two major accidents in the space of six months raise questions about the company’s safety culture, Rob Bailey, the company’s senior vice-president of Canadian operations, said CNOOC has “an extremely high standard of safety” and is continually working to improve it. [Does “an extremely high standard of safety” need  improvement? Or, is the “extremely high standard of safely” at the high end of the lowest of the lows, doubled down by the huge layoff in November, and thus need continual work to try to improve it or make it look good?]

“We can’t speculate on the cause of this accident, whether it had anything to do with our culture or not at this point in time,” he said.

The explosion happened in the compressor building which is part of a hydrocracker unit, which combines hydrogen with partially upgraded oil to remove sulphur. … Bailey said it’s not known how long the facility will remain closed.

Investigators from Occupational Health and Safety and Alberta Energy Regulator officials were both sent to the scene Friday. Bailey said the company is also doing its own investigation.

He described the death and serious injury of employees as the “worst nightmare” for those in the company.

“This will leave a terrible mark on all of us at Nexen,” he said.

In posts on his Facebook page, Foster described moving his family home from Niagara Falls to Fort McMurray in late February 2014, driving with “2 dogs 1 rabbit 1 ferret and a cat,” which he described as “like Drew’s ark.”

Friends described Foster online as an “amazing man” who was always there if people needed help.

The Long Lake site is about 45 kilometres south of Fort McMurray. [Emphasis added]

2016 01 15 drew foster victim of nexen explosion in alberta, comment by meghan foster, daughter

Workers were changing valves at time of deadly explosion, OHS says by Jana G. Pruden, Keith Gerein, January 16, 2016, Edmonton Journal
Occupational Health and Safety investigators say workers on an industrial site south of Fort McMurray were changing valves on a compressor before a deadly explosion on Friday afternoon. … OHS spokeswoman Pam Sharpe said investigators were still at the scene on Saturday morning, and are not currently releasing any other further information about what caused the explosion.

Nexen announced it will be holding an “information session” about the explosion and fatality in Calgary at noon on Saturday.  Nexen CEO Fang Zhi and Ron Bailey, the company’s senior vice president of Canadian operations, are slated to speak. [Emphasis added]

‘Darkest day’ for Nexen after fatal oilsands explosion by Stephen Ewart, January 16, 2016, Calgary Herald

Calling it “one of the darkest days in Nexen’s history” chief executive Fang Zhi confirmed Saturday an explosion at its Long Lake oilsands plant killed on maintenance worker and seriously injured another.

“Our thoughts are with the families … I want to express my deepest sympathy,” said Zhi, the CEO of Nexen Energy, a subsidiary of the Chinese oil company CNOOC, told a news conference in Calgary.

“Our motto at is that nothing is so important it can’t be done safely, yesterday we did not live up to that standard.”

Update: One Nexen worker killed, one burned in ‘major explosion’ at northern Alberta oilsands plant by Kieth Gerein, January 15, 2016, Edmonton Journal

One person has died and another is in hospital in critical condition following an explosion at an industrial site south of Fort McMurray on Friday afternoon.

The blast occurred inside a building at Nexen’s Long Lake oilsands operation. The company issued a news release saying there was no immediate danger to the neighbouring community or to personnel still on site. “The affected facility has been shut down and we are stabilizing the scene,” the company said.

Early indications were that the explosion took place in a hydrocracker, which combines hydrogen with partially upgraded oil to remove sulphur, the RCMP said. … Landry said officers from the Wood Buffalo RCMP detachment were called just before 5 p.m. to the Long Lake site, which is a SAGD facility that injects steam into the ground to retrieve the oil. The site is near Anzac, which is about 45 kilometres south of Fort McMurray.

“The investigation is in its early stages, but does not appear to be suspicious,” RCMP said in a news release.

In addition to Occupational Health and Safety, the Alberta Energy Regulator has dispatched staff to the scene to ensure safety and environmental protocols are followed.

Calgary-based Nexen Energy ULC, acquired by China’s state-owned CNOOC Ltd. more than two years ago, laid off about 60 employees at the plant in November.

The company said at the time the job cuts would improve the plant’s technical and operational performance. [Greed greed greed, of the type typical in Alberta? Profit over life, profit over air, profit over water, all enabled by Protti and his AER? Emphasis added]

Update: One Nexen worker killed, one burned in ‘major explosion’ at northern Alberta oilsands plant by Keith Gerein with files by Canadian Press, January 15, 2016, Edmonton Journal

One person has died and another is in hospital in critical condition following an explosion at an industrial site south of Fort McMurray on Friday afternoon.

The blast occurred inside a building at Nexen’s Long Lake oilsands operation. The company issued a news release saying there was no immediate danger to the neighbouring community or to personnel still on site. “The affected facility has been shut down and we are stabilizing the scene,” the company said.

Early indications were that the explosion took place in a hydrocracker, which combines
hydrogen with partially upgraded oil to remove sulphur, the RCMP said.

Brad Grainger, Wood Buffalo’s deputy fire chief, said the municipality sent an ambulance and fire truck to assist.

“The company has their own fire and medical crews,” he said. “By the time we got there, their fire crews had already done a good job of containing the fire. It was a major explosion.”

Provincial Occupational Health and Safety investigators were expected to arrive at the site Friday night, spokeswoman Pam Sharpe said. She said the blast happened around 3:20 p.m.

One worker was killed while another suffered burns and was taken to hospital in Fort McMurray. That victim has since been flown by helicopter to the burn unit at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton.

RCMP spokesman Sgt. Jeremie Landry said the injured worker arrived at hospital in critical condition.

The names, ages and genders of the victims have not been disclosed. The explosion’s cause has not been determined.

Landry said officers from the Wood Buffalo RCMP detachment were called just before 5 p.m. to the Long Lake site, which is a SAGD facility that injects steam into the ground to retrieve the oil. The site is near Anzac, which is about 45 kilometres south of Fort McMurray.

“The investigation is in its early stages, but does not appear to be suspicious,” RCMP said in a news release.

In addition to Occupational Health and Safety, the Alberta Energy Regulator has dispatched staff to the scene to ensure safety and environmental protocols are followed.

Calgary-based Nexen Energy ULC, acquired by China’s state-owned CNOOC Ltd. more than two years ago, laid off about 60 employees at the plant in November.

The company said at the time the job cuts would improve the plant’s technical and operational performance.

The Long Lake plant was also the scene of a pipeline rupture that leaked five million litres of a mixture of bitumen, produced water and sand into muskeg last summer.

The company shut down the Long Lake plant while it complied with a pipeline suspension order from the AER, which had determined Nexen was not complying with pipeline maintenance and monitoring regulations.

The suspension order was lifted in September and the plant returned to full operations.

Long Lake is designed to produce up to 72,000 barrels of bitumen per day. [Emphasis added]

1 dead following explosion at oilsands site near Fort McMurray by Caley Ramsay, January 15, 2016, Global News

One person is dead and another is in critical condition following an explosion at an oilsands site in northern Alberta Friday.

Acting Staff Sgt. Jeremie Landry told Global News the explosion happened at the Nexen Long Lake facility just before 5 p.m. The site is about 35 kilometres southeast of Fort McMurray.

The Alberta Energy Regulator said its staff has been sent out to conduct their own investigation. AER spokesperson Carrie Rosa said the facility is in the process of shutting down.

The cause of the explosion is not yet known.

The site of a Nexen pipeline leak that spilled roughly five million litres of emulsion. Photo taken during a tour on July 22, 2015. Nexen says Alberta oil pipeline started leaking as early as June 29

Nexen Energy Nexen responds to regulator’s order to suspend operations at 95 Alberta pipelines

It’s not known if there are any other injuries.

Some of the pipeline operation at the Long Lake facility was shut down over the summer following an oil spill.

A spill of about five million litres of bitumen, sand and produced water was discovered near Nexen’s Long Lake oilsands facility in late June. The break occurred just over a kilometre from the Long Lake plant. Nexen “sincerely apologized” for the impact it caused and was investigating along with the Alberta Energy Regulator.

READ MORE: Nexen’s Fort McMurray pipeline spill one of Canada’s biggest ever

The AER ordered Nexen to suspend operations at 95 of its pipelines, due to “noncompliant activities at Long Lake oilsands operations” to do with pipeline maintenance and monitoring.

In September 2015, the AER allowed Nexen Energy to partially resume operations [Emphasis added]

[Refer also to:

University Alberta Researchers say Alberta drastically under-reports workplace injuries

Alberta workplace fatalities close to record numbers in 2013, led by a near doubling of fatalities caused by occupational disease

Business Insurance: Oil boom and fracking cause spike in energy industry workplace deaths. Do you have copies of Commercial Liability Insurance Coverage for companies operating near your home and loved ones?

Workplace Deaths Drop – But not in the Oil Industry

Is “Best in Class, Shut the Frack Up” AER a regulator or abusive enabler of deadly harm? ]

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