Animal attraction is not a good thing when referring to black bears and workers at oil sands sites. Earlier this year a a 36 year old woman who worked for Suncor was attacked and killed by a bear. To cut down on future altercations, the oil company is implementing a wildlife safety training program. Kim Titchener, […]
New testing standards set for crude being transported by rail in the U.S.
The oil industry’s lead trade group has come up with new standards for testing and classifying crude shipped by rail. As with earlier orders from the American government, the industry’s standards generally leave it to individual companies to decide how often to test crude in order to gauge its danger. Hazardous-materials shipments are supposed to […]
Liability stakes for high-risk industries are raised in wake of BP ruling
A US court ruling that dramatically ramped up BP Plc’s potential penalties for the 2010 Gulf oil spill could create new liability risks not just for deep water drillers but also for other industries like mining and nuclear power generation. US District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Thursday found BP guilty of […]
Can new technology ease concerns over pipeline safety?
Who could have ever imagined that North America would surpass Saudi Arabia as the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas liquids? A decade ago, that would have seemed laughable. Yet that’s exactly what has happened; and it’s not just Saudi Arabia that has been left in North America’s dust — Russia has, too. […]
It’s not their fault says lawyers representing accused workers in Lac Megantic disaster
The union and lawyers representing two railway employees accused in the Lac-Megantic disaster are urging the Crown to drop the charges in light of recent findings by the Transportation Safety Board. Engineer Tom Harding, railway traffic controller Richard Labrie and Jean Demaitre, the manager of train operations (and not a member of the union), each face […]
Worker safety expected to improve in oil sands
Recent changes to Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) may improve worker safety in Fort McMurray’s oil sands. The reforms, announced in June, include limiting the number of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) in some workplaces, raising fees employers must pay to use the program, and heftier fines – up to $100,000 – for companies caught […]
Understanding the immediate consequences of an oil spill
The fate of oil during the first day after an accidental oil spill is still poorly understood, with researchers often arriving on the scene only after several days. New findings from a field experiment carried out in the North Sea could help shape the emergency response in the immediate wake of disasters. It is well […]
Oil companies dump plans to explore the Arctic
After years of mishaps and false starts, some oil companies are giving up on , in the Arctic. Many companies have allowed their leases on offshore Arctic acreage to expire. Since 2003, the rights to an estimated 584,000 acres in the Beaufort Sea have been allowed to lapse. The oil industry was once optimistic about […]
Chilling report on the Arctic
The Arctic appear to be the next target for the oil and gas industry. With up to a fifth of the world’s remaining reserves, it’s the single largest untapped region. There is a concern though, can the oil be extracted safely? The industry likes to remind us there are hundreds of deepwater wells that have […]
Insurance may not be enough to cover potential disasters
U.S. Transportation Department (DOT) regulators are concerned most freight railroad insurance policies are barely sufficient to cover even average oil train accidents, Politico reports. In an analysis published in early August, DOT reported most large railroads are insured at about $25 million for accidents, with others insuring up to $50 million for certain hazardous cargo. […]