Husky Energy Inc. is facing a number of provincial and federal charges related to a July 2016 pipeline leak that spilled oil into a river in Western Canada, the country’s environmental ministry said on March 26.
Environment and Climate Change Canada said it had laid a total of nine charges over the 1,570-barrel leak from Husky’s Saskatchewan Gathering System pipeline, which forced a number of cities in the province of Saskatchewan to temporarily stop drawing drinking water from the North Saskatchewan River.
The Western Canadian province laid a 10th charge, saying Husky did “unlawfully permit the discharge of a substance to the environment that caused an adverse effect.”
The charges follow a 19-month joint federal-provincial investigation. The maximum fine under Saskatchewan’s environmental rules $778,938, with the federal laws allowing for fines ranging from $11,655 to $778,938.
Husky is expected to appear in a Saskatchewan court on March 29. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Recommended Reading
Can Oil, Gas Survive Without Drastic Change?
Energy scholar Robert Bryce offers an unabashed view of the shale revolution, climate change and the future of energy. Spoiler alert: don’t expect oil and gas to disappear anytime soon.
Equinor, Rosneft To Extract 250 MMbbl Of Oil At Russian Field
Oil firms Equinor and Rosneft expect to extract some 250 million barrels of oil and 23 billion cubic meters of gas during the first part of the development of the Severo-Komsomolskoye oilfield in Russia, Equinor said on Dec. 23.
Petronas Buys 49% Of Repsol’s Stake In Indonesia’s Andaman III Block
Repsol will still hold a 51% stake in the block after the deal.