The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board
(C-NLOPB) announced today that Suncor Energy Inc. has entered a guilty plea in Provincial Court to a violation of section 161(1) of the Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord Implementation Act (the Accord Act). This charge resulted from an investigation by C-NLOPB Conservation Officers following a report of a spill of 26,400 litres of synthetic based mud (SBM), a petroleum product, into the ocean on Monday, March 28, 2011 from the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit Henry Goodrich which was operated by Suncor Energy in the Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area.

The Operator pleaded guilty to the charge of causing or permitting a spill into the Offshore Area. The company had been charged with three violations under the Accord Act and regulations, but two charges were withdrawn as part of the guilty plea.

A fine of $30,000 was imposed under the Accord Act. In addition, the Operator was ordered to pay $100,000 into court to be dispensed into the Environmental Damages Fund and to post a Notice relating to the offence and plea on the Suncor website.

The Agreed Statement of Facts is available here.

The C-NLOPB is the independent joint agency of the Governments of Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador responsible for the regulatory oversight of petroleum activities in the Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area, including; health and safety for offshore workers, protection of the environment during offshore petroleum activities, management and conservation of offshore petroleum resources, compliance with the provisions of the Accord Acts that deal with Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador employment and industrial benefits, issuance of licences for offshore exploration and development, and resource evaluation, data collection, curation and distribution.

Media Contact:
Sean Kelly M.A.,APR, FCPRS
Manager of Public Relations
(709) 778-1418
(709) 689-0713 (cell)
skelly@cnlopb.nl.ca