Wildfires erupt in Canada crude patch in threat to oil sands
One 7-acre fire is within about 6 miles of MEG Energy Corp.’s Christina Lake site, which produced almost 100,000 barrels a day in May.
The Alberta government has issued a second environmental protection order for the Primrose oil sands project.
In September, Alberta served Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ) with an order to drain a body of water affected by a summertime leak. Three separate bitumen releases from around the same time were not addressed at the time.
Under the new order, the company will have to clean up and reclaim the three additional sites. It’s also required to determine the impact of all four leaks and find their root cause.
“Information gained from the order will inform Environment and Sustainable Resource Development as it investigates the environmental impact of the releases,” the Alberta government wrote in a news release on Monday.
In order to meet these requirements, the company will have to initiate a drilling program.
“Doing this work in the winter months will minimize the envrionmental impact of the drilling activities” the Alberta government wrote.
The Primrose oil sands are located about 300km from Edmonton and produce approximately 120,000 barrels of oil per day.
