CALGARY, March 9, 2015 /CNW/ – 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.