OREANDA-NEWS.   Imperial Oil Limited responded to an incident involving the flow of water from a shallow aquifer to the surface at a well site.  No water is currently flowing from the well and operations to permanently plug the well are ongoing.

The incident occurred on August 19 during drilling operations at a depth of about 430 metres. The well has not produced hydrocarbons and the water is from a non-potable aquifer.

Ongoing monitoring indicates no impact to human health or wildlife.  No information is available yet regarding the cause of the water flow or volume estimates. There were no injuries as a result of the incident.

Imperial is the operator of the well located about 25 kilometres northwest of Fort Nelson.  Response personnel and equipment including water containment and removal capacity were quickly mobilized to the site.

The area First Nation community, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission were notified earlier in the week. Imperial Oil is working closely with the BC Oil and Gas Commission on our response.