Freezing rain causes waterfowl to land at Syncrude site

Ducks observed on roads, parking lots and settling basins

FORT MCMURRAY, AB, Oct. 26 /CNW/ - Syncrude and Alberta government officials are responding to an incident involving waterfowl landing at various locations at the Syncrude site, including roads, parking lots and the Mildred Lake and Aurora settling basins.

The waterfowl were first observed late Monday evening, October 25^th. The Alberta Government was contacted immediately following an assessment of the situation.

Syncrude's waterfowl deterrent system had been in full operation at the time. In addition, extra air cannons, flare guns and air horns were used at the Mildred Lake Settling Basin in an attempt to scare the birds away from the area, but with no response. Currently, approximately 200 birds have been counted on the Mildred Lake settling basin, of which about 125 have been euthanized due to contact with bitumen floating on the surface. The remaining birds are still being assessed by Syncrude and Alberta government personnel. 

"We are cooperating fully with regulators and are working to minimize waterfowl losses," said Scott Sullivan, Syncrude President and CEO. "This is very unfortunate, especially given the significant efforts we have taken to improve our deterrent system."

It is believed this unusual bird activity is due to a freezing rain storm in the localized area which made it difficult for birds to fly. They appeared to be exhausted and unable to fly. Birds that landed on roads and parking lots were approachable, strengthening the opinion that fatigue forced them to land.

Preliminary information indicates all other ponds at Syncrude facilities are clear of waterfowl at this time.

The Syncrude Project is a Joint Venture undertaking among Canadian Oil Sands Limited, Imperial Oil Resources, Mocal Energy Limited, Murphy Oil Company Ltd., Nexen Oil Sands Partnership, Sinopec Oil Sands Partnership and Suncor Energy Oil & Gas Partnership.

For further information:

Cheryl Robb 780-970-6923 orSyncrude's website atwww.syncrude.com