No environmental impact from upgrader blast: Syncrude
by The Canadian Press
The company is investigating the cause of the incident; there is no estimate on the extent of the damage
FORT MCMURRAY, Alta.—Syncrude says there was no environmental impact after an explosion and fire at an Alberta processing site near Fort McMurray.
The company says the fire was quickly extinguished at its Mildred Lake upgrader and there were no injuries.
Ryan Bartlett with the Alberta Energy Regulator said in an email that the company reports that all workers are safe, no product has been released and no offsite odours have been detected.
The company is investigating the cause of the incident. There is no estimate on how much damage has been done.
Syncrude says synthetic crude oil production has been temporarily suspended while a recovery and repair strategy is being developed.
Bartlett said in his email that there have been no impacts to wildlife or water bodies.
Syncrude spokesman Will Gibson said operations have been affected, but any information on whether there will be an impact to the facility’s output would come from Syncrude’s owners.
“It’s too soon to tell how this is going to impact our production. Other parts of our operation are continuing. It’s a very big site up here.”
