Nexen says Alberta oil pipeline started leaking as early as June 29

The site of a Nexen pipeline leak that spilled roughly five million litres of emulsion. Photo taken during a tour on July 22, 2015.
Shallima Maharaj, Global News

By Staff The Canadian Press

ANZAC, Alta. – 

Nexen Energy says a major oil pipeline leak detected last week in northern Alberta started some time within a two-week period dating back to late June.

Global News is attending the on-site media tour and will provide updates from the scene.

Ron Bailey, the company’s senior vice-president of Canadian operations, says officials still don’t know precisely when the pipeline ruptured.

But Bailey says the company believes the pipeline started leaking between June 29, when crews finished a cleaning, and July 15, when a contractor discovered it.
The spill of about five million litres of bitumen, sand and produced water was discovered near Nexen’s Long Lake oilsands facility, about 35 kilometres southeast of Fort McMurray. The break occurred just over a kilometre from the Long Lake plant.


Nexen Energy says the pipeline was installed last year and a warning system didn’t detect the leak.

On Sunday, a dead duck was found at the site of the spill, but the company says it believes the animal died before it put fences, wildlife cannons and other deterrents in place.

The affected area is about 16,000 square metres.

Bailey says it will take months before the company can determine what caused the leak. The bitumen is being allowed to solidify before being removed, and there is no set date for when cleanup will be complete.