AlbertA pipelines: 6 mAjor oil spills in

recent history

3 leaks occurred within 1-month time span, adding to pipeline-vs.-rail safety debateFive million litres of a bitumen-water-sand emulsion were found to have leaked Wednesday from a Nexen Energy pipeline south of Fort McMurray, Alta. — one of the biggest oil spills in the province’s history.It adds further fuel to the debate over pipeline safety that continues to rage on, most recently emerging as a point of contention among premiers meeting in St. John’s this week.It’s not the first time crews have been dispatched to clean up a leak. Here are six other pipeline spills in Alberta:Little Buffalo In April 2011, almost 4.5 million litres of crude oil leaked near the First Nations community of Little Buffalo in northwest Alberta — the largest spill in the province in 35 years.The oil contaminated more than three hectares of beaver ponds and muskeg in a densely forested

area northeast of Peace River, Alta. The Energy Resources Conservation Board, an independent government agency that was dissolved in 2013, reprimanded the company, saying it had inadequate leak detection and failed to test its emergency response plan.Alberta’s premier at the time, Ed

Stelmach, also criticized the oil company’s poor communication with the First Nation, as well as with the province itself, following the spill.Plains Midstream, the company that owns the pipeline, was charged with three counts of violating environmental protection laws.Red Deer River

Plains Midstream got into trouble again with another spill in June 2012, this time into a central Alberta river system.Almost half a million litres of sour crude oil leaked into a creek that flows into the Red Deer River located about 100 kilometres north of Calgary near the community of Sundre.

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The 461,000-litre spill (about 2,900 barrels) prompted further strong criticism from Alberta’s energy watchdog. The regulator concluded Plains Midstream didn’t inspect its pipeline often enough and didn’t pay enough attention to government warnings. It also said the company failed to enact adequate mitigation measures once the leak occurred and communicated poorly with hundreds of people affected by the spill.The company was charged with two counts of violating environmental laws in June 2014. It was ultimately fined $1.3 million after pleading guilty to the charges for both spills.Rainbow LakeIn late May 2012, about 3.5-million

litres (or 22,000 barrels) of oil and water leaked into muskeg close to the Northwest Territories border. Reports said the pipeline, which belonged to Pace Oil and Gas, spilled near Rainbow Lake in northwestern Alberta. The pipeline was carrying an emulsion that was roughly 70 per cent water and 30 per cent oil. Elk PointA pipeline flange gasket failed at an Enbridge pumping station northeast of Edmonton and spilled about 230,000 litres (1,400 barrels) of crude oil in June 2012. The spill was almost completely contained to the site near Elk Point, Alta., with no impact on wildlife or water, Enbridge said at the time.It was the third major pipeline

oil spill within a one-month time span in Alberta, after spills at Red Deer River and Rainbow Lake.Slave LakeAn aboveground pipe failure owned by Canadian Natural Resources caused 70,000 litres of oil and processed water to spill near Slave Lake, Alta. The spill, which happened in April 2014 about 250 kilometres north of Edmonton, wasn’t an emergency, according to the Alberta Energy Regulator. It didn’t leak near any people, water or wildlife, the regulator said.Red Earth CreekJust a few months later, a Canadian Natural Resources-owned pipeline spilled oil again into muskeg in northern Alberta.

About 60,000 litres of crude oil leaked in November 2014 when the pipeline experienced a mechanical failure. A report by the regulator said wildlife was not affected.Low amounts of hydrogen sulphide gas were also detected along with the crude oil.

oil drop no guArAntee of lower

prices At b.c. gAs pumps

Global crude oil, local gasoline commodities dance to different energy-sector tunesGlobal crude oil prices down again; local gas prices still going up. Prices at the pump down on Wednesday nights but up on Saturday mornings. The short answer, according to

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energy industry analysts: crude oil prices are not accurate predictors of local gas station pump prices. Or, as Michael Ervin, president of petroleum industry consultancy MJ Ervin & Associates, pointed out, basing the regional price of gasoline on the mercantile price of crude oil would be like “saying the price of a house would follow the price of the lumber market.”Still, with the price of U.S. crude oil down almost 15% in early July from the year’s high set on June 10, global prices still around 50% below what they were a year ago and international markets rattled over the Greek debt crisis and China stock market stumbles, prospects for lower gasoline prices should be bright. Add to that the Iran nuclear accord reached last week, which could release a flood of Iranian crude

into an already oversupplied market.But don’t expect that break at your local gas bar any time soon because, as Ervin pointed out, global supply and demand and geopolitical events dictate crude oil prices; local market pressures and the “crack spread” (refiners’ markup) on wholesale gasoline dictate regional prices.“What gets put into [your] gas tank at the gas station isn’t crude oil; it’s gasoline, and that is very much a commodity in its own right.”The numbers tell the tale on the difference between crude costs and the price at the pump.The International Energy Agency’s (IEA) monthly oil price statistics show that while crude oil import costs in April 2015 were 47% lower than they were in April 2014, per-litre gas prices

in Canada were down only 16% in May 2015 compared with May 2014; in the United States during the same period, the price drop was 26%.While North American crude oil prices have dropped approximately 48% to US$51 per-barrel as of July 17 from US$98 in July 2014, the per-litre price of gasoline in Metro Vancouver has decreased only 7% to $1.38 from $1.48 over the same period.According to the MJ Ervin & Associates second-quarter 2015 petroleum pricing report for Canada, rising wholesale gasoline prices outpaced rising crude prices, especially in western Canada, where regional refinery issues raised supply concerns. Among those concerns, according to the report, was the temporary shutdown of Western Canadian crude oil production

because of widespread forest fires.Ervin added that there are hundreds of different “makes and models of crude oil, all of which are priced differently. … So what you hear on the news is a poor indicator of what is going to happen to [local] gasoline prices.”He also pointed out that news reports typically quote a futures price for crude, not today’s price.“So I can’t possibly expect … the price for [crude oil] delivery next month to relate to tomorrow’s gasoline price change. There’s a tremendous amount of misinformation and misunderstanding about this.”According to an Imperial Oil (Nasdaq:IMO) explanation of gasoline pricing in Canada, crude oil costs accounted for roughly 48% of what Canadians paid for

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a litre of gasoline in 2014. Taxes accounted for approximately 31%. Operating margins for refiners (14.6%) and retailers (6.4%) accounted for the balance.Natural Resources Canada’s Fuel Focus 2014 Annual Review added that the limited capacity of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline, Vancouver’s main gasoline source, and scheduled refinery maintenance in Edmonton squeezed supply and drove up prices in Metro Vancouver last year.MJ Ervin’s second-quarter 2015

petroleum pricing report also pointed out that record inventories of crude in North America, coupled with high demand for gasoline, pushed refinery margins to an average of $0.28 per litre in June, the highest they’ve been in eight years.As to why gasoline prices fluctuate predictably each week in Metro Vancouver, Brian Ahearn, Canadian Fuels Association vice-president, said he didn’t have specifics for each market across the country.But Ahearn said in general the main factors in local gasoline pricing are

crude oil, taxes and the markups of gasoline wholesalers and retailers.In Vancouver, taxes and other levies add roughly $0.49 to each litre of gasoline; in Calgary they add $0.28 to each litre.Meanwhile, the margins in gasoline sales at the pump remain thin.Ervin estimated that from the time gasoline leaves one of Canada’s 14 refineries and is pumped into gas tanks at any of Canada’s 11,811 retail gas stations, the per-litre profit for gasoline retailers is between $0.01 and $0.02.

He said the retailer markup on gasoline “has been virtually stagnant for close to 30 years.”Ervin added that sales from attached convenience stores and car washes generally contribute more to a gas station’s bottom line than do gasoline sales.Small wonder then that MJ Ervin & Associates’ 2014 National Retail Petroleum Site Census found gas stations shifting to larger convenience stores and adding more car washes and quick-service restaurants.

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b.c. to pAss 25-yeAr lng lAw, but

industry wAnts more; lAbour, tAx

concerns

A liquefied natural gas industry: the British Columbia government fought an election on it, launched an extraordinary summer legislative session and made financial concessions, but it still isn’t enough for the companies that want even lower taxes and have expressed concerns over the availability of workers.The Liberal government’s LNG dream is expected to move towards reality this week when a bill is adopted for a 25-year agreement on what could be B.C.’s first LNG plant.B.C.’s politicians were recalled this month to debate and pass a single piece of legislation that aims to provide certainty to LNG investors and revenues to the province.“I think there’s more work to do in terms of making sure we are in fact globally competitive,” said B.C. LNG Alliance president David Keane. “I think the government has more to do.”Pacific NorthWest LNG, a joint venture backed by Malaysian state-owned energy giant Petronas, plans to build a US$36-billion LNG plant at Lelu Island near Prince Rupert. It will be the largest private investment in B.C. history and the LNG Project Agreements Act seeks to provide a 25-year buffer against LNG-targeted tax increases but allows increases in corporate and sales taxes.“There are things that can be done

in terms of some of these taxes, like the (provincial sales tax) PST,” said Keane. “These projects will pay hundreds of millions of dollars in PST taxes, which typically, if you are classified as a manufacturing facility, you are not subject to.”B.C. is the only jurisdiction where LNG companies must pay LNG income tax and a carbon tax, he said, adding they will also pay PST, GST, payroll, provincial and federal corporate taxes and municipal taxes.Finance Minister Mike de Jong firmly rejected Keane’s suggestion that the LNG industry should be considered for PST relief.“There are other proponents and there are other groups out there who will, I suppose, continue to advocate for shifts in policy,” he said. “I expect that will continue long into the future. We believe we have settled upon a taxation and a public policy and an environmental regulatory framework that strikes the right balance.”Just before the provincial election in 2013, Premier Christy Clark promised the LNG industry would be running full steam by 2020 and would supply billions in added government revenues each year.Keane said the LNG industry will be seeking thousands of skilled workers within the next five years and the goal is to hire B.C. workers first, Canadians second and out-of-country workers third.“Will there be a requirement for temporary foreign workers: probably,” he said. “I think everybody who wants a job in British Columbia,

certainly early in the next decade will be in a position to get a job.”Keane said the industry alliance provided the government with data earlier this year on how many workers they would need to build a large LNG plant.“We’re waiting now on the government to come back to us with data that shows how many skills actually are available in B.C.,” he said.Keane said a large LNG project will require between 3,500 and 7,500 construction workers.

“If you get two or three of these going at roughly the same time, plus there’ll be another 3,000 or so construction workers to build the pipeline, and then you have Site C,” he said. “We’ve got to make sure we’ve identified the skills we need.”Tom Sigurdson, spokesman for the building-trades council, said the recently completed modernization project at Rio Tinto Alcan’s smelter in Kitimat employed more than 3,000 construction workers and 75 per cent were from B.C.He said he’s concerned the

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LNG legislation and the project-development agreement do not include job-guarantee language for B.C. workers.

cAnAdiAn frAcking sAnd mArket

expAnds As lng grows, dollAr

fAlls

3.5 million tonnes of fracking sand used annually in Canada North American demand has surged in recent years for the smoothest, hardest sand available and Canadian companies are looking to carve out a bigger chunk of the market.The appetite is coming from the fracking industry, which in North America went from using about seven million tonnes of sand in 2007 to an estimated 35.3 million tonnes this year, according to PacWest, a consulting group that tracks the industry.Part of the fracking process involves shooting tonnes of sand down a well as fracking fluid splits open rocks to release trapped oil and gas. The sand granules wedge into cracks and keep them open so the hydrocarbons can be sucked out.The process puts thousands of pounds of pressure on the tiny grains of sand, which is why the industry has high specifications for their sand, said Joe Peskunowicz, external vice-president at fracking company Canyon Technical Services Ltd.“It’s got to be round, because if it’s angular, it will crush because of point loading,” said Peskunowicz.

“Sphericity and roundness are important for strength, as is quartz content.”The best sand in the business is known as “Northern White,” and many Canadian companies think it’s good enough to justify hauling it some 3,500 kilometres from Wisconsin to the big shale plays of northern British Columbia and Alberta.“More than half of Canadian demand is satisfied by U.S. supply just because Wisconsin has the highest quality sand,” said Samir Nangia, managing director of PacWest.But with energy industry operators looking at any ways to save costs these days, importing sand from far away, and paying for it in U.S. currency, has become harder to justify.“It is expensive to transport it to Canada,” said Samir. “So as a result, local sands are making inroads into the Canadian market.”Several Canadian producers have stepped in to try to fill the gap and provide some of the 3.5 million tonnes used annually in the country, but it’s been a rocky start for some.The exacting demands of the industry have already claimed some Canadian upstarts, said Peskunowicz.“There’s been a couple of mines that started and made less than a quality product, and they went away. It all depends upon the deposit.”Others have succumbed to the tough markets, which saw North American sand sales drop from $2.8 billion last year to an estimated $1.7 billion this year, according to PacWest.

Victory Nickel Inc. had to suspend operations at its recently opened processing plant near Medicine Hat, Alta., and Stikine Energy Corp., which was developing a project in northeastern B.C., is near bankruptcy.Canadian Silica Industries tried to open a frack sand mine near Fort Nelson, B.C., but the Fort Nelson First Nation launched a legal challenge to have the project undergo an environmental review, and won the case last week.Despite the challenges, those pushing forward with sand mine

projects are optimistic for the long-term potential of the industry.With the possibility of Canada’s liquefied natural gas market taking off, there could be significant growth in fracking demands, said Dean Stuart, a spokesman for Athabasca Minerals, which is trying to develop a frack sand mine north of Fort McMurray, Alta.Stuart also said drillers are finding that more sand increases the effectiveness of the frack, with some wells using as much as 10,000 tonnes per frack, compared

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to an average of 2,000 tonnes.“Even though the drilling activity is going down, the amount of sand being used per well is going up,” he said.

historic lAunch of first lng ferry

built in north AmericA

The first of dual fuel ferry ever built for North America was launched yesterday at Chantier Davie Canada Inc. in Levis, Quebec. The MV Armand-Imbeau II is the first of two dual fuel ferries being built by the Canadian shipyard for ferry operator Société des Traversiers du Québec (STQ).Chantier Davies had a keel laying ceremony for the vessel back in February.Classed by Lloyd’s Register, the MV Armand-Imbeau II is scheduled to be delivered by Chantier Davie this fall, followed by her sister ship, the MV Jos-Deschênes II, four months later. Both ferries are Ice-Class rated to 1A for the hull and 1AS for the propulsion system, for year-round ice navigation. Each can carry up to 432 passengers, 115 cars and eight heavy goods vehicles.The ferries will have Wärtsilä 20DF engines and LNGPac fuel storage and treatment systems and electric thrusters rather than conventional propellers. Chantier Davie used a pneumatic lift bag system for the ferry launching, the first time such a system has been used in Canada), according to the shipyard. The lift bag system is

environmentally friendly as it is fully reusable and eliminates the need to dispose of wooden foundations after launching. Additionally, the lift bag system also means less stresses are placed on the ship’s hull during launching and that the launching is carried out in a controlled manner.

lArge outflow of money witnessed in suncor energy inc.

Shares of Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) traded 0.08 points or 0.29% higher at $27.28.The total intraday money flow for the shares came in at a disappointing $(-1.83) million. The total upticks amounted to $2.34 million and the total downticks were approximately $4.17 million, with the up/down ratio of 0.56. On a different note, the shares have seen 1.79% price change during the week.In a block trade which occurred during the day, the stock had an inflow of $0 million in upticks and an outflow of $1.48 million in downticks. The up/down ratio for the block was found to be 0. The net money flow for the block transaction was $(-1.48) million.The company shares have dropped 33.92% in the past 52 Weeks. On July 24, 2014 The shares registered one year high of $42.59 and one year low was seen on July 10, 2015 at $26.45. The 50-day moving average is $28.09 and the 200 day moving average is recorded at $29.82. S&P 500 has rallied 7.62% during the last 52-weeks.Company has received recommendation from many

analysts. UBS initiates coverage on Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU). The rating major has initiated the coverage with an buy rating on the shares. The Analysts at UBS announces a current price target of $53 per share. The rating by the firm was issued on April 24, 2015.As many as 14 brokerage firms have rated Suncor Energy Inc (NYSE:SU) at 2. Research Analysts at Zacks have ranked the company at 3, suggesting the traders with a rating of hold for the short term. The stock garnered a place in the hold list of 6

stock Analysts. 2 analysts suggested buying the shares. 6 analysts rated the company as a strong buy.Shares of Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) ended Thursday session in red amid volatile trading. The shares closed down 0.04 points or 0.15% at $27.16 with 3,203,360 shares getting traded. Post opening the session at $27.42, the shares hit an intraday low of $27.08 and an intraday high of $27.53 and the price vacillated in this range throughout the day. The company has a market cap of $39,262 million and the

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number of outstanding shares has been calculated to be 1,445,585,000 shares. The 52-week high of Suncor Energy Inc. (NYSE:SU) is $42.585 and the 52-week low is $26.45.Suncor Energy Inc. (Suncor) is an integrated energy company. The Company is focused on developing petroleum resource basins-Canada’s Athabasca oil sands. In addition, the Company explores, acquires, develops, produces and markets crude oil in Canada and internationally, and the Company transports and refines crude oil, and market petroleum and petrochemical products primarily in Canada. The Company operates under three segments: Oil Sands, Exploration and Production, and Refining and Marketing. The Company also markets third-party petroleum products. The Company also conducts energy trading activities focused principally on the marketing and trading of crude oil and byproducts. In September 2013, the Company announced that it has sold its conventional natural gas business in Western Canada to CQ Energy Canada Partnership, a newly established partnership between Centrica plc and Qatar Petroleum International Ltd.

hAve-not provinces holding oil hostAge

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall isn’t a flashy guy. He comes across as humble and down-to-earth; the kind of person who would probably stop and help you fix a flat tire if you were stuck on the side of the road. That’s why polls consistently rank him the most popular premier in Canada.

Wall also knows how to stand up for what is right, and has the great ability to call a spade a spade.These skills were on full display this week, as Wall went to bat for Canada’s energy workers at an annual meeting of the country’s premiers. He articulately made the case for the Energy East pipeline, a new proposal to carry oil from Alberta to refineries in New Brunswick, converting 3,000 km of an existing natural gas pipeline and building another 1,200 km of new pipeline.Ontario and Quebec announced their intention to impose new environmental demands on Alberta and Saskatchewan – the price for their support for this project to go ahead.Wall was clearly frustrated by the lack of support for Western Canada’s economy, so he came out swinging against the premiers of Ontario and Quebec.Premier Wall even quipped that perhaps Western Canada needs to pump Equalization payments through a pipeline, in order to finally get central Canadian politicians to approve one.Wall hit the nail on the head, not once, but twice. In one fell swoop; he criticized both Canada’s inter-provincial trade barriers and our country’s failed Equalization system.Plainly and simply, Canada’s have-not provinces cannot simultaneously shut down Canada’s energy industry while also demanding cash payments from the provinces that produce oil and gas.If Canada’s have-not provinces want equalization payments, they need to understand that much of

that cash comes from Canadians working in the energy sector.The last thing Canada’s economy needs right now is provincial premiers presiding over regional fiefdoms and trying to shake down their neighbours - their fellow Canadians – who are simply trying to get their products to market.Premiers Kathleen Wynne and Phillipe Couillard seem willing to hold the energy industry hostage, putting our entire economy at risk. At the same time, they have the gall to turn around and demand the federal government take even more money out of Western Canada to pay for their pet projects in Toronto and Montreal.

Ironically, Quebec ranks third in oil and gas sector spin-off jobs in Canada; tens of thousands of Quebecers work in jobs related to the energy industry.And thanks to an elaborate scheme of federal transfers including equalization, health transfers, social transfers, infrastructure funding and other subsidies, the Government of Quebec gets more than 20 per cent of its annual revenue - $20.4 billion this year alone – in transfer payments from the federal government.Ontario is not far behind. Thanks to over a decade of spendthrift politicians and fiscal mismanagement, Ontario is giving Quebec a run for its equalization

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money. Ontario is now the second largest recipient of equalization transfers, receiving $2.4 billion in equalization transfers and $20.5 billion in total transfers from the feds.And still, the Wynne government complains they are getting the short end of the stick on federal transfers. They bury their shame, cry foul and blame the Harper government for their budget woes.Equalization was created out of a well-intended wish for each province to achieve equal service levels despite income (and management) disparities across the provinces.It has degraded, however, into the politics of division, where the federal government plays Robin Hood with our tax dollars. The problem, of course, is that mismanaged provinces have no incentive to clean up their act, so long as their bad fiscal behaviour is rewarded with cash from the well performing provinces.Stephen Harper used to believe in reforming equalization. Back in 2001, Harper wrote a scathing letter over the transfer systems, denouncing the undue burden placed on Canadians through high taxes and heavy-handed transfers.But when finally given the opportunity to reform the system, Harper took a pass. His government dropped the ball in 2014 when the equalization agreement came up for renegotiation, and now Canada is stuck with a two-tiered system of ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots.’Equalization punishes provinces with low taxes that promote economic prosperity, and rewards provinces with wasteful

government spending, chronic debt, and sluggish economies.That is why Brad Wall’s comments are so refreshing. He is one of the only politicians in Canada willing to stand up for Western Canada’s oil and gas workers. He’s also one of the few willing to the truth about equalization.

cAnAdA oil sAnds pipeline leAk

spills thousAnds of gAllons; cAuse

unknown

Nexen Energy apologized on Friday for an oil sands pipeline leak in the Canadian province of Alberta that is one of North America’s largest-ever oil-related spills on land, and said its clean-up crews were working around the clock.The company, a subsidiary of China’s CNOOC Ltd., said it is still trying to find the root cause of the leak in the pipeline, which was new and installed last year. It found a visible breach about the size of a hand, which Nexen’s automatic detection systems did not pick up.The incident is another blow for the environmental record of the oil sands industry, already under fire from environmental groups for its carbon-intensive production process.“We are deeply concerned with this and we sincerely apologize for the impact,” said Ron Bailey, a senior vice president of Nexen who leads the company’s Canadian operations.The spill was detected on Wednesday and leaked 31,500 barrels of emulsion, a mixture of bitumen, water and sand.The leak covered 16,000 square

meters and the Alberta Energy Regulator said it did not contaminate any water bodies. Nexen said the area has been isolated.The volume is larger than the July 2010 rupture of an Enbridge pipeline which spilled an estimated 20,000 barrels of crude, with some reaching Michigan’s Kalamazoo River.Still, because the spill was bitumen emulsion, rather than oil, it would be significantly easier to clean up and less damaging to the environment, said Raj Mehta, a professor of oil and gas engineering at the University of Calgary.“It should not be contaminating any water table. Bitumen,

because it’s so viscous, is like molasses,” he said. “You can literally back hoe and scoop it up.”Alberta Premier Rachel Notley, who on Friday finalized a Canadian energy strategy with other provincial leaders, said the leak was “very troubling” but pipelines were still the best option for transporting crude oil.“As much as everyone was concerned to hear it had happened, it did not actually in any way shake the conclusion by all premiers that pipelines remain the safest way to move hydrocarbon products,” said Notley, whose recently elected left-wing NDP government has pledged to toughen the province’s environmental standards

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Nexen said restarting the pipeline, which connects its 9,000 barrel-per-day Kinosis oil sands project to Long Lake, will take “some time.” Production from Kinosis will be shut in until the pipeline is repaired.Long Lake, which has capacity of 72,000 bpd but is producing about 50,000 bpd, is 22 miles southeast of the oil sands hub of Fort McMurray.The largest Alberta oil-related spill on record, according to the AER, was a 40,000-barrel release from a pipeline operated by Peace Pipe Ltd in December 1980. More recently, a Plains Midstream Canada pipeline failed in April 2011, releasing an estimated 28,000 barrels of oil in the northwestern part of the province.

first nAtion community

concerned About oil spill south of

fort mcmurrAy

A community near the 5 million litre oil emulsion spill says they haven’t been properly communicated with and are concerned by the magnitude of the spill.

The Fort McMurray #468 First Nation says the CNOOC Nexen Long Lake Facility is within 10 kilometres of the nation’s Reserve #176. The emulsion spill – a mix of bitumen, water and sand -- is roughly 30 km southeast of Fort McMurray and covers 16,000 square metres.In a press release issued on Friday, the First Nation stated it received e-mail communication from Nexen and the Alberta management agency, but that they had yet to receive official briefings from Nexen or the Alberta energy regulator.Leadership from the First Nation and the nation’s Industry Relations Corporation (IRC) viewed the spill site that had settled on the muskeg.In a press release, the FMFN #468 stated the spill could be four times the reported size, with the possibility of tainted water.Chief Ron Kreutzer called the volume staggering compared to the pristine environment, but was comforted by efforts to restrict wildlife activity in the area of the spill.Councillor Byron Bates said he hopes

the spill will reiterate the importance of present and future consultation between the nation and the industry.FMFN#468’s industry relations corporation said it was too early to comment on how adequate the response to the spill was, but stated they are concerned the spill did not trigger any monitoring system. The spill was found by a contractor.The IRC states it will continue to monitor the spill and provide updates.While meeting with Canada’s other premiers discussing a national energy strategy, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley stated pipeline remains the safest way to transport goods.

On Friday, Ron Bailey, Nexen’s senior vice-president of Canadian operations, apologized. The company built an all-weather road and is bringing in trucks with vacuums to clean the spill.In 2012, 22,000 barrels of mixed oil and water spilled out over 10 acres of muskeg near Grande Prairie.In May 2011, the 50-year-old Rainbow pipeline operated by Plains All American spilled 4.5 million litres of crude oil onto 8.3 hectares of land near Little Buffalo on the Lubicon Lake Nation, about 100 kilometres north of Peace River. A Plains Midstream Canada leak near Sundre in 2012 leaked 3,000 barrels of oil.

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