Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (
TSX: T.CNQ,
Stock Forum) provided an update to an incident at the company's Primrose development area in which bitumen emulsion was discovered at surface at four separate locations in the Cold Lake region of Alberta.
The discoveries were immediately reported to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and concurrently crews were dispatched to initiate necessary action.
According to the
Canadian Natural Resources press release, each location has been secured and clean-up, recovery and reclamation activities are well underway.
The four locations initially impacted at Primrose covered an area of 20.7 hectares. The bitumen emulsion seepage is now controlled to specific containment areas where it is effectively recovered as it reaches the surface.
As a result of the company's successful active clean-up efforts, approximately 6,300 barrels of bitumen emulsion has been collected to date, with the company now focusing on a reduced impact area of 13.5 hectares.
The rate of bitumen emulsion seepage in all four locations has declined as expected and now totals less than 20 barrels per day.
Canadian Natural believes the cause of the bitumen emulsion seepage is mechanical failures of wellbores in the vicinity of the impacted locations.
A complete review is ongoing and Canadian Natural has a specialized team focused on investigating wells in the impacted areas for any potential required remediation work.
As a result of the bitumen emulsion seepages, the company's near term steaming plan at Primrose has been modified, with restrictions on steaming in some areas until the investigation with the AER is complete.
Canadian Natural is a senior oil and natural gas production company, with continuing operations in its core areas located in Western Canada, the U.K. portion of the North Sea and Offshore Africa.
On Wednesday, Canadian Natural was up 1.7% and was trading at $32.20 a share. The company had a market cap of $35.01 billion, based on 1.08 billion shares outstanding.