Alberta company fined after worker severely burned in oil and gas site fire 3 years ago

O’Reilly Oilfield Services Ltd. has been fined $90,000 after admitting guilt to one count of failing to ensure the health and safety of workers under its supervision.

This sentence follows an incident in July 2021, when a worker suffered severe burns from a fire at an oil and gas site near Valleyview, northwest Alberta. According to the Alberta government, the fire occurred when liquid from a decommissioned pipeline ignited and overflowed from a portable flare stack.

In addition, Crown prosecutors dropped five other charges against the company. Similarly, 15 occupational health and safety charges against Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. related to the same incident were also withdrawn.

Both O’Reilly Oilfield Services and the Crown have 30 days to appeal the conviction or penalties.