Regulator orders Alberta oilsands site to shut down following string of alleged infractions
CBC
An oilsands operator in northern Alberta has been ordered to shut down due to repeated failures to meet its regulatory obligations.
The Alberta Energy Regulator has issued an order requiring Calgary-based Sunshine Oilsands Ltd. to suspend its wells, facilities and pipelines.
The order, issued Nov. 14, requires the operator to post a security deposit of more than $6.1 million, which represents 100 per cent of the company's estimated inactive liability.
Under the order, the operator must also provide the regulator with a series of "reasonable care measures" it will adopt to improve the operation of its sites.
The order highlights a series of infractions related to the company's West Ellis facility, including broken turbines, leaking pipelines and containment units for the industrial site that were at risk of spilling over.
The SAGD (steam-assisted gravity drainage) oilsands facility is located in the northwestern stretches of the Athabasca oilsands, about 60 kilometres west of Fort McKay.
"The company has repeatedly failed to comply with regulatory requirements and address compliance issues in a timely manner," the regulator said in a statement.
Sunshine Oilsands — an oilsands exploration, development and production company — must immediately report any hazards that present a risk to public safety or the environment, the regulator said.
"The AER has issued this order to ensure that the sites licensed to Sunshine Oilsands will not pose a risk to public safety or the environment," the regulator said in an advisory.
"Failure to comply with this order may result in escalation of enforcement, which could include an abandonment order."
According to the order, turbines used to generate power on the site had fallen into disrepair.
One of them, known as the North Turbine, was still being used, despite being "inoperable," the regulator said. The turbine's heat recovery system was broken.
The south turbine was also broken but the operator told the regulator that it would not be fixed due to the costs associated with the necessary repairs.
At the time when the order was issued by the AER, neither of the turbines had been fixed and the company continued to operate the broken North Turbine.
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