The cause of a leak which left one person with minor injuries at Shell Canada’s Scotford upgrader northeast of Fort Saskatchewan remains under investigation.
Around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, emergency crews were called to the scene of a “heavy oil hydrocarbon release” inside a process unit within the refinery which processes crude bitumen.
An alarm was sounded, and workers were evacuated away from the spill, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
Neighbouring residents and businesses were put on alert as emergency crews established road blocks around the plant Wednesday afternoon.
One person suffered minor injuries, but company officials declined to provide any further details.
As of Thursday morning, non-essential personnel remained evacuated from the site, but the “situation has been resolved,” the company said.
“Shell emergency services established a safety perimeter around the impacted area to safely manage the incident and protect employees and contractors,” the company said. “The release is under control, and the all-clear alarm was sounded.
“Air monitoring is ongoing and shows no off-site impact.”
The Alberta Energy Regulator is investigating the release, and staff were on site Thursday. The company is also launching an internal investigation.
Scotford is an integrated refining site that includes a bitumen upgrader, oil refinery chemical plant and a carbon capture and storage unit.