An oil spill into a major Canadian river from a Husky Energy Inc pipeline started late on July 20, but flows were not shut down until the following morning, the company said on Tuesday.
Husky’s incident report, released by the Saskatchewan government, said the leak started on July 20 at 8 p.m. CST (0200 GMT) in the western province.
Crews arrived at the site of the Saskatchewan Gathering System pipeline the next morning, Husky executive Al Pate told reporters on a conference call.
Around 1,572 barrels of oil leaked into the North Saskatchewan River, forcing two western Canadian cities to stop drawing drinking water from the river. The 19-year-old pipeline transports heavy oil and helps supply Husky’s Lloydminster upgrader. In a statement released after the conference call, Husky, controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-Shing, clarified the sequence of events leading up to the pipeline being shut.
Husky said its monitoring system showed there were pipeline pressure anomalies on the evening of July 20, prompting a review of data and operations. Crews were dispatched along the gathering system that night, but did not identify a leak.