The Alberta Energy Regulator says a pipeline owned by Calgary-based Mount Bastion Oil & Gas Corp. has leaked about 560 barrels (or about 89,000 litres) of an oil and water mixture at a northern Alberta wellsite.
AER spokesman Jordan Fitzgerald says the regulator has staff supervising cleanup by the company at the site about 65 kilometres northwest of Red Earth Creek, which is about 420 kilometres north of Edmonton.
He says the company reports the oil emulsion spill affected about 5,000 square metres of swampy muskeg, adding there have been no reports of injury to wildlife or damage to nearby creeks.
Data on the AER website indicates the spill is the largest of three pipeline leaks the company has reported in the past 16 months.
In July 2016, it reported a pipeline leaked about 315 barrels of oil and 125 barrels of produced saltwater at a site 75 kilometres northwest of Red Earth Creek, and in December 2016 it reported a leak of three barrels of oil and 120 barrels of saltwater at a site 30 kilometres northeast of the town.
Fitzgerald says the company’s previous record will be considered by staff as they investigate the spill. The company could face penalties ranging from warnings to fines or licence restrictions.
READ MORE: Millions of litres of oil waste have spilled in Alberta in recent years
Watch below: Speaking in Ottawa this week, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley urged the federal government to step up when it comes to pipeline projects. She said Trans Mountain is a project “that we all need.”
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