EDMONTON – The Alberta government is ordering more environmental protection work be done on the Primrose oilsands project in northern Alberta.
Earlier this fall, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. was told it must remove most of the water from one of its bitumen leak sites — a small lake — before it freezes.
On Monday, the company was told it must also determine the impact to subsurface groundwater and work to find the root cause of all four bitumen releases.
The province says that will require a drilling program, adding that doing so in the winter months minimizes the environmental impact of the drilling activities.
In July, Canadian Natural Resources said a mechanical failure at an old well was behind bitumen seepage at its project on the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range.
Four sites were identified and about 12,000 bbl of bitumen has since been recovered.
The Calgary-based company has said the four locations have been secured and cleanup is ongoing.