Nexen responds to fatal explosion at oil sands facility

One person was killed, with another said to be in hospital in critical condition.

“Our motto at is that nothing is so important it can’t be done safely, yesterday we did not live up to that standard”.

Two maintenance workers were refitting the valves on a compressor in the gas compression building in the hydrocracker unit at 3:20 p.m. MT when the explosion occurred, said Ron Bailey, senior vice-president of Nexen’s Canadian operations.

Canada-based Nexen Energy ULC did not give a reason for the Friday explosion at its Long Lake facility south of Fort McMurray, in northern Alberta province.

The names of the victims have not been disclosed.

The affected facility has been shut down and we are stabilizing the scene.

The Alberta Energy Regulator said its staff has been sent out to conduct their own investigation.

In a statement, Nexen says the facility has been shut down, and there was no immediate danger to the neighbouring communities or personnel on site.

Both OHS and the Alberta Energy Regulator dispatched staff to the site.

Bailey says the facilities are being kept warm to prevent damage from the cold, which dipped to -29 C in Fort McMurray on Saturday afternoon.

The incident comes after Nexen discovered a pipeline leak last July near the same facility that caused one of North America’s largest oil-related spills on land. The AER is still investigating the rupture of the pipeline that was less than a year old.

Long Lake is created to produce up to 72,000 barrels of bitumen per day.

The company shut down the Long Lake plant while it complied with a pipeline suspension order from the AER, which had determined Nexen was not complying with pipeline maintenance and monitoring regulations. It resumed full production in September. The company said at the time the job cuts were part of its efforts improve the plant’s technical and operational performance.