Owner of oil wells near Cold Lake, Alta., blames 60,000-litre crude oil spill on vandalism
RCMP investigating March 21 spills at four sites owned by Check Energy
Vandalism is behind a spill of thousands of litres of crude oil at four sites near Cold Lake, Alta., says the company that owns the wells.
On March 21, Check Energy Ltd. reported a release of 60,000 litres of crude oil about 26 kilometres south of Cold Lake.
The Alberta Energy Regulator was notified the same day. On its compliance dashboard, the AER said no impacts to wildlife were reported.
The release "was a direct result of intentional vandalism," Ryan Mitton, CEO of Calgary-based Check Energy, told CBC News in an email.
"We are working with local RCMP. The [60,000 litre] release has been recovered with remedial efforts complete."
Alberta RCMP said they were notified of the suspected acts of vandalism to four oil and gas locations near Beaverdam, Alta., on March 22
In a release on Friday, RCMP said unknown suspects entered the lease sites and "caused significant intentional damage."
"The damage has since been fixed and ground tests have been initiated."
Renato Gandia, a spokesperson for the energy regulator, said the AER's priority is to "ensure companies comply with requirements to take effective and immediate action to protect public safety and the environment."
Cold Lake is about 300 kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
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