(TSX:HSE) says it made financial progress in the second quarter, but the positive news is being offset by a pipeline leak that has spilled thousands of litres of oil and other material into the North Saskatchewan River.
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The city of North Battleford is downstream and officials there say they are taking precautions and monitoring the drinking water in light of the spill.
Residents could then rely on treated well water, Mayor Ian Hamilton said in an interview.
“What we do know is the leak was not under the river, as far as we can see”, he told a conference call Friday morning.
A sheen was initially visible on the river, but no communities downstream have reported sightings of oil or oil sheens, Peabody said.
Last year, a pipeline owned by Nexen Energy ULC leaked 35,000 barrels of emulsion – a mixture of bitumen, water and sand – in Alberta in one of North America’s largest-ever oil-related spills on land. “The leak was kind of in a location near the river”.
The pipe transports heavy oil and diluent and is part of Husky’s Saskatchewan gathering system, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Lloydminster, Mel Duvall, a company spokesman, said in an e-mail.
Ralph Bock of the Environment Ministry said Thursday the Water Security Agency would take samples from the river past the boom to check for any hydrocarbons.
“This gathering system is flexible”, Peabody said.
“Our plan is to be shut down when it goes by”, said MacCormack.
A pipeline spill is clouding Husky Energy’s second quarter results.
“Although pipelines remain imperfect in terms of a conveyance for our oil they are still the safest way to move oil”, Wall said.
Husky president Asim Ghosh was asked about any potential negative public reaction to pipeline spills.
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“We ensure we’ve got procedures in place and we ensure we make the procedures even more robust from each learning experience”.
