Incidents / Accidents

Apache Canada Reports Produced Water Leak in North Central Alberta

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Apache Canada has reported a produced water release from an Apache-operated water injection pipeline in its Belloy Field operating area in north-central Alberta, about 40 kilometres northwest of Whitecourt.

Apache immediately shut in and isolated the water injection pipeline upon discovery of the release by an operator on Tuesday morning; notified the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and Alberta Environment; and initiated its emergency response plan. Estimated volume of the produced water release at this time is 1,600 cubic metres.

There is no danger to the public and no known impacts to wildlife.

Apache's priorities are to ensure safety of the public and responders, maintain containment and delineate the affected area, recover fluid and minimize the impact to the environment.

A team of environmental specialists is on site and is currently mapping the affected area, sampling the produced water, and commencing with cleanup efforts.

A fleet of specialized equipment has been deployed to support cleanup and remediation efforts.

The produced water migrated down an embankment and impacted a small, unnamed creek. There is no impact anticipated to area fish-bearing waterways.

Ongoing air monitoring has detected no levels of hydrogen sulphide at the spill site or near cleanup operations.

A trace amount of hydrocarbons was present in the produced water. Extensive water and soil sampling is ongoing and collected samples are being analyzed at this time. The release involved produced water that had already been treated to remove hydrocarbons.

Produced water comes from formation fluids, which are extracted during oil and gas operations that contain naturally occurring oil, gas, non-potable water, salt and other minerals. As a part of the production process, formation fluids are brought to the surface and treated to remove recoverable oil and gas.

The remaining produced water and associated minerals are re-injected back into the producing formation to maximize the reservoir recovery and conservation of resources.

The cause of the release is under investigation.