Wednesday, March 11, 2015

ANOTHER MASSIVE PIPELINE OIL LEAK: MURPHY OIL PIPELINE LEAKS 17,000 BARRELS (535,500 GALLONS) OF OIL CONDENSATE IN THE SEAL FIELD IN NORTH-EASTERN ALBERTA, CANADA








MARCH 10, 2015

SEAL LAKE, ALBERTA, CANADA

Clean-up efforts are continuing for a pipeline spill at Murphy Oil's remote Seal field north-eastern Alberta, Canada, that leaked up to 17,000 barrels of condensate (535,500 gallons) - much more than first thought.

Here is what these oil people state that they do at the Seal Field:
At the Seal heavy oil project, we operate primary production from horizontal wells and are progressing Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) projects in the area with both polymer flooding and thermal recovery. 
Location: Northern Alberta
Basin: Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin
Working Interest: 100%, operated
Acreage: Over 316,000 net acres
First Production Date: 2003
Product: Heavy oil
Apparently, two years ago Murphy bought the Seal Lake facilities from Shell and became 100% operator.  Here is the announcement from Murphy Oil.
Murphy Oil Announces Seal Acquisition
EL DORADO, Ark.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 13, 2012-- Murphy Oil Corporation (NYSE:MUR) announced today that Murphy Oil Company Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary, has entered into an agreement with Shell Canada Energy to purchase, for an undisclosed amount, additional interests in lands and take over as operator of Shell’s assets in the Seal Lake area of Alberta, Canada. The agreement covers approximately 148,531 net acres, associated plant and equipment, production in the order of 2,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day and an estimated 14.0 million barrels of oil equivalent of proved and probable reserves. Upon completion of the transaction expected in the fourth quarter of 2012, the Company’s acreage position in the area will total over 331,000 net acres with total production over 9,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. As operator of this area and its existing lands Murphy will be able to advance its growth plans for conventional as well as enhanced oil recovery opportunities.

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MURPHY OIL COMPANY LTD. PROVIDES UPDATE ON INFIELD CONDENSATE LEAK

MARCH 9, 2015

CALGARY, CANADA

Following up on our initial statement provided on March 3, 2015, Murphy Oil Company Ltd. is continuing its incident management efforts of a condensate leak at its Seal Field, located in a remote area approximately 80 kilometers south east of the Town of Peace River in north central Alberta.  

On the afternoon of March 1, 2015, three (3) localized areas of condensate were discovered near the surface along the right-of-way of a condensate transfer line. Murphy's field staff immediately shut-in the source and depressurized the pipeline. Our Emergency Response Plan was activated and the Alberta Energy Regulator was notified of the incident and is on-scene. There have been no reports of injuries. 

As our assessment process has progressed, we have now determined that the extent of the condensate release is potentially up to 2,700 m3 (17,000 barrels), which occurred over an extended period of time. The extent and duration of the release is the subject of ongoing assessment and further information will be provided upon confirmation. 

The focus of our incident management effort continues to be on the safety and security of our employees, contractors, local stakeholders, government officials, and environmental specialists in the area as we assess and evaluate the extent of the release and implement a remediation plan. 

Due to the remote location of the incident area, we have implemented an Access Plan to gain access to the affected area. This effort is still underway. We have also initiated a Delineation Plan to assess both the areal extent of the surface impact, but also assess any subsurface impacts utilizing boreholes to test the subsurface strata. In an effort to protect wildlife, we have activated a Wildlife Response Unit which is on-scene and to date, we have not observed any impact on wildlife.  In addition to our normal pipeline integrity management system, we have tested the remaining condensate pipelines in the field to ensure the reliability of the system. 

Due to the location of the leak, there is no danger to local residents, and no rivers have been affected. Murphy is committed to a rapid containment and remediation process and expects that the affected lands will be restored to their natural state as quickly as possible. 

Murphy Oil Company Ltd. has been a long term operator at our Seal project in northern Alberta and we have developed close relationships with our stakeholders in the region. We will continue to provide updated information as it becomes available. 

SOURCE Murphy Oil Company Ltd. 

PS:  as with the statements issued by every self-inspecting oil or gas company, you should take these statements with a grain of salt.

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Murphy Oil Report Alberta Oil Leak


March 3, 2015

US exploration and production company Murphy Oil is responding to a condensate leak at its Sea field in North Central Alberta, Canada. 

Murphy revealed on Tuesday an infield condensate transfer line at the field which was shut-in after three localized areas of condensate were found near the surface over the weekend.

The company is yet to determine the volume of the leak but said the spill was in a remote area and added no rivers were affected.

Murphy said it immediately activated its spill response plan and notified the Alberta Energy Regulator which was currently on scene to coordinate the clean up.

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Murphy Oil Report Alberta Oil Leak

 Wednesday, 4 March 2015

Murphy Oil Company Ltd. is responding to a leak from an infield condensate transfer line at its Seal Field, located approximately 80 kilometers south east of the Town of Peace River in North Central Alberta. The 3-inch diameter pipe was shut in after three (3) localized areas of condensate were discovered near surface during the afternoon of March 1st. A spill response plan was immediately activated.

The Alberta Energy Regulator was notified and is on scene to coordinate clean up response with the Company.

The spill is located in a remote area and no rivers are affected. Responders and environmental specialists are working on site to fully assess the incident and mitigate the impact of the leak. The volume of the leak is yet to be determined as part of the assessment process.

Murphy Oil Company Ltd. will provide updated information as it becomes available.
www.murphyoilcorp.com