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WINNIPEG – A Canadian regulator said Tuesday it filed three charges against a Cenovus Energy Inc subsidiary following a 2018 oil spill off the country’s Atlantic coast.
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The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Oil Board said it brought charges against Husky Oil Operations Ltd for the spill at White Rose Field, the largest in the province’s history. Cenovus has since acquired its rival Husky.
A leaking flow line from White Rose Field to the SeaRose storage vessel spilled 250 cubic meters (1,572 barrels) of oil in November 2018, temporarily shutting down all crude production in the waters of Newfoundland and Labrador.
“We take full responsibility from the beginning and work to identify and implement corrective actions with oversight from the regulator,” Cenovus spokeswoman Colleen McConnell said, declining to comment further.
Gretchen Fitzgerald, national program director for the environmental group Sierra Club Canada Foundation, said it was concerning that the board was taking so long to press charges.
“Three years later, we still have very little information on the impact of the spill or complete records of the damage caused,” he said. “We only know that not a drop of spilled oil was recovered and we would expect the same result if a spill occurred today.”
Cenovus reached an agreement last month with Suncor Energy Inc to decrease its stake in White Rose and increase ownership of Suncor, pending the restart of a related expansion project.
The first provincial court appearance is scheduled for November 23 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Reference-torontosun.com