Archives for August 19, 2019

Oil production has been shut down, company says

A power outage on the Hibernia platform Saturday evening resulted in about 2,200 litres of oil spilling into the ocean. 

The Hibernia Management and Development Company (HMDC) confirmed the platform lost power, causing water sprinkler systems to activate.

The sprinklers caused the waste containment drain system, which contained water and some oil, to overflow onto the platform and into the ocean, the company said in a statement.

HMDC estimated about 2,200 litres of oil has spilled into the ocean, based on a surveillance flight was carried out Sunday morning.

A previous news release said 150 litres, or about one barrel, of oil had spilled, based on the sheen on the surface of the water observed from the platform.

The company said there would be a second flight Sunday afternoon and updated estimate would be released based on that flight information.

A vessel has also deployed spill response equipment, the company said, while two other vessels are containing the oil.

All employees safe, company says

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board and Canadian Coast Guard have been notified.

According to HMDC, power has since been restored, all employees are safe and production has been shutdown.

The spill comes after an estimated 12,000 litres of oil and water spilled on July 17, resulting in oil production shutting down for nearly a month.

Canada issued joint statement with EU defending right to protest for Hong Kongers

China’s embassy in Ottawa told Canada on Sunday to stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs a day after the country issued a joint statement with the European Union in defence of the “fundamental right of assembly” for Hong Kong citizens.

Hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters rallied peacefully in Hong Kong on Sunday in the 11th week of what have been often violent demonstrations in the Asian financial hub.

On the eve of Sunday’s rally, Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said in a statement: “Fundamental freedoms, including the right of peaceful assembly … must continue to be upheld.”

“It is crucial that restraint be exercised, violence rejected and urgent steps taken to de-escalate the situation,” the pair wrote. The statement did not explicitly assign blame to either the government or the protesters.

“Engagement in a process of broad-based and inclusive dialogue, involving all key stakeholders, is essential,” the statement said, noting that both Canada and the EU support Hong Kong’s “high degree of autonomy” within China, as well as its residents’ right to peaceful assembly.

The Chinese Embassy said in a statement on its website that Canada should “immediately stop meddling in Hong Kong affairs and China’s internal affairs.”

“Under the current situation, the Canadian side should be cautious on its words and deeds regarding the Hong Kong related issue,” the statement from an unnamed spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Canada said.

“The relevant protests and demonstrations in Hong Kong have already deteriorated and evolved into extreme violence. In face of such severe violence and offences, no government with a sense of responsibility would sit idly by,” the statement said.

Canada’s foreign ministry had no immediate response. Canada has about 300,000 citizens living in Hong Kong, the ministry has said.

Canada has been caught up in a diplomatic dispute with China since Canada’s detention of Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Chief Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou on a U.S. warrant in December.

Shortly after Meng’s arrest in Vancouver, China detained two Canadian men, who have yet to be released. China has also blocked imports of some Canadian commodities.

The federal Liberal government has unveiled plans to award a sole-source contract for hundreds of light armoured vehicles to General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada, while also promising the London, Ont., company a $650-million loan.

The surprise deal and loan were announced by Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan on Friday, only weeks before the federal election, sparking Conservative allegations the Liberals were trying to buy votes and distract from the SNC-Lavalin affair.

While final negotiations are still underway, the government says it plans to spend $3 billion for 360 LAVs as well as associated infrastructure upgrades and testing, which will replace two of the army’s aging armoured vehicle fleets.

The Defence Department spokeswoman Jessica Lamirande said the vehicles the government will be purchasing through the pending deal are different from those GDLS is building as part of a $15-billion deal between Canada and Saudi Arabia.

That deal has caused the company and federal government endless grief since it was brokered in 2014, partly because of criticism about the sale of weapons to the kingdom given its abysmal human-rights record.

There have also been reports that Saudi Arabia has failed to pay for the hundreds of vehicles it has already received, with a CTV report in June pegging the outstanding debt at more than $1 billion.

The new LAVs are instead largely the same as those already being used by the Canadian Forces, Lamirande said, which was one reason the government decided to forgo a competition and move on negotiations with GDLS.

Awarding a contract now rather than in several years, as the Defence Department had planned, will also save time, money and prevent layoffs at the company as GDLS recently upgraded the military’s existing LAV fleet, she added.

Departmental documents show officials had not planned to start moving out on the project in earnest for several more years.

During an event with Sajjan in London on Friday, GDLS vice-president John Ellison underscored the economic importance of the sole-sourced deal, saying it “represents good jobs for our employees and our network of suppliers in all regions of Canada.”

Neither the government nor GDLS provided details about the loan, including whether it was intended to cover a shortfall in payments from Saudi Arabia.

Conservative defence critic James Bezan blasted the Liberals over the timing of Friday’s announcement even as he expressed his party’s support for GDLS and the purchase of needed equipment for the military.

“After failing to deliver for the Canadian Armed Forces over the past four years, the Liberals are now desperately using the needs of our military to distract from Justin Trudeau’s SNC-Lavalin corruption scandal right before an election,” he said in an email.

“While GDLS is a trusted partner and Conservatives support its workers, today’s announcement is nothing but cynical electioneering from a scandal-plagued Liberal government that will do anything and say anything to cling to power.”

Southern Ontario has long been a battleground region for the three major parties, with the Liberals and NDP fighting for the urban centres of London, Kitchener-Waterloo and Windsor while the Tories have taken large swaths of the rural countryside.

The Alberta Energy Regulator says a pipeline has spilled 40,000 litres of crude oil into a creek.

The regulator says on its website that the incident happened Thursday on a Bonterra Energy Corp. line 14 kilometres south of Drayton Valley, Alta.

It says the line was shut in and depressurized, and that containment booms were installed.

The AER says no impacts to wildlife were reported.

Calgary-based Bonterra says in a news release that it began investigating a problem with the pipeline at 8 a.m. Thursday, and at 1 p.m. it discovered a rupture that was leaking into Washout Creek.

It says it is removing the oil with booms and vacuums, and is mitigating the effect on wildlife by setting up barriers as well as visual deterrents that include having people present.

Washout Creek flows into the North Saskatchewan River, which is the source of Edmonton’s water supply, and Bonterra says it has placed additional booms where the creek meets the river as an extra precaution.

The company says cleanup and recovery is expected to continue for the next three weeks.