AER issues report on 2012 incident near Rainbow Lake

Alberta Energy Regulator says a May 2012 release of 800 cu m of crude oil by Pace Oil & Gas Ltd. occurred due to a hole in wellhead piping caused by internal corrosion. The incident occurred about 20 km southeast of Rainbow Lake. The oil seeped into muskeg.

AER’s Mar. 3 report said the company’s response to the incident during the first 4 days was inadequate. AER issued a high-risk enforcement action against Pace on Jan. 9, 2013, for failure to have an adequate emergency response plan.

AER now requires that Pace complete a series of AER-directed actions intended to reduce the potential of future incidents. They include conducting an audit of Rainbow Lake pipeline infrastructure, monthly submissions of inspection data on water disposal and injection wells, and completing an emergency response exercise within 90 days.