Cenovus Energy has been mandated to pay a fine of $1.83 million for its involvement in the largest offshore oil spill ever documented in Newfoundland and Labrador history.
The provincial court of St.Jones issued the fine Friday morning, and the company is required to make the payment within 30 days.
In the White Rose oilfield, a flowline connector spill occurred in 2018, resulting in the release of approximately 250,000 litres of oil into the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast east of St. John’s, N.L.
Husky Energy, the operator of the field at the time, merged with Cenovus in 2020, when the incident took place. In February, Calgary-based Husky Energy pleaded guilty to three charges laid over the same spill.
“We deeply regret this incident happened,” said Colleen McConnell, a communications specialist with Cenovus in St. John’s in a statement to CBC News. “We work hard every day to protect each other, our communities and the environment.”
McConnell’s statement says Cenovus has accepted responsibility for what went wrong and implemented several changes in workflow and supervision.
Today’s $1.83 million fine comprises less than 0.1% of the $4.1 billion in net earnings disclosed by Cenovus for 2023.
