Two Canadian companies have been fined a total of CA$550,000 (£297,000) in relation to a fatal explosion at an oil and gas site near Edmonton, Alberta in November 2022. Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. and Peace Pipefitting Inc. were found to have violated provincial occupational health and safety rules after an explosion at a wellsite operated by Tamarack.
The incident occurred at a site near Slave Lake, about 250 kilometres north of Edmonton, where Tamarack produces around 43,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd). At the time, Tamarack said it would investigate the cause of the explosion and cooperate with regulatory authorities.
The Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Agency conducted its own investigation into the incident and found that two welders – Greg Podulsky, 29, and Darcy Schwindt, 47 – had been working on top of a tank storage facility at the time of the blast. An explosion occurred while they were on the tank, killing them both.
Following the investigation, Tamarack Valley Energy and Peace Pipefitting pleaded guilty to violating Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act and were made to pay fines and penalties which will be put towards safety awareness and education initiatives, as well as a charity that supports victims of workplace accidents.
Peace Pipefitting has also been placed under enhanced regulatory supervision for up to two years.
A third company, Voltegic Energy Services Ltd., was also charged in relation to the incident. At the time of writing, the company is yet to be sentenced.