Alberta to review pipeline safety after recent spills
By EDWARD WELSCH
CALGARY, Alberta -- Alberta Energy Minister Ken Hughes called for an independent review of pipeline safety in the province following a number of oil spills this year.
Mr. Hughes requested that Alberta's energy regulator, the Energy Resources Conservation Board, work with an independent third party to review pipeline safety and accident response, according to a government statement.
"The energy industry is the economic lifeblood of our province, and at the same time we want to ensure that Albertans have clean water, clean land and clean air," Mr. Hughes said.
"Today we are taking significant steps to ensure this will be the case for decades to come."
Alberta is the largest oil-and-gas-producing province in Canada, and is crossed by nearly 250,000 miles of pipelines.
The review will look at Alberta's regulations regarding pipeline integrity, the safety of pipelines crossing waterways and how accidents are handled and compare with best practices from around the world. A report will be submitted to Mr. Hughes at the end of the review.
There were three major pipeline incidents in Alberta in May and June.
In June, Plains All American Pipeline spilled up to 3,000 bbl into a reservoir near the small resort town of Sundre, Alberta, and an Enbridge pipeline spilled about 1,450 bbl in eastern Alberta last month.
In May, Pace Oil & Gas spilled some 5,000 bbl from a well in a remote corner of northwestern Alberta.
Dow Jones Newswires
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