Leak on recycled water line detected and containment in progress
FORT McMURRAY, Alberta – Crews are in the process of containing a leak of recycled water detected north of the Mildred Lake operation Thursday afternoon.
Syncrude’s leak detection system, via an infrared-equipped helicopter, detected the leak shortly after 3 p.m. and the line was shut down immediately. The 35-kilometre pipeline runs recycled water from Syncrude’s base plant operation to its Aurora operation. Heavy equipment built a dyke to contain the residual water in the line. Vacuum trucks have also been dispatched to remove the contained liquid.
The leak occurred in the pipeline’s right of way next to Beaver Creek. Water samples are being taken both upstream and downstream of the incident to determine if the leak has caused a variance in the water quality. Those tests are being conducted on both the Beaver Creek and the Athabasca River. The amount that has entered the nearby tributary of Beaver Creek has not yet been determined.
Syncrude has continuous leak-detection systems on the line. This is the only leak that has ever occurred on the line, operating since 1999.
Regulatory bodies and communities downstream of the operation have been notified about the incident and recovery efforts. Updates will be provided as they become available.
The Syncrude Project is a joint venture operated by Syncrude Canada Ltd. and owned by Canadian Oil Sands Limited, ConocoPhillips Oilsands Partnership II, Imperial Oil Resources, Mocal Energy Limited, Murphy Oil Company Ltd., Nexen Oil Sands Partnership, and Petro-Canada Oil and Gas.
Trading Symbols for Public Syncrude Joint Venture Owners:
| Canadian Oil Sands Trust (via Canadian Oil Sands Limited and Canadian Oil Sands Limited Partnership) | COS.UN-TSX |
| ConocoPhillips Oilsands Partnership II (wholly owned by ConocoPhillips) | COP-NYSE |
| Imperial Oil Resources | IMO-TSX/AMEX |
| Murphy Oil Company Ltd. | MUR-NYSE |
| Nexen Inc. | NXY-TSX/NYSE |
| Petro-Canada | PCA-TSX/PCZ-NYSE |
