In this week's news update, a fire at a fracking site in Oklahoma causes millions of dollars of damage, and an explosion at a plant in Alberta kills 1 worker and severely injures another
One worker was killed and another was critically injured Jan. 15 in an explosion at an oilsands plant near Fort McMurray, Alberta.
Nexen Energy ULC says the explosion at its facility happened inside a building at the facility and that the injured worker was severely burned and taken to a hospital.
The cause of the explosion is unknown and under investigation.
Fracking Site in Oklahoma Damaged By Fire
A fire at an Oklahoma hydraulic fracturing operation on Jan. 13 caused more than $20 million in damage, according to Grady County emergency officials.
Officials say the fracking pumps at Continental Resources caught fire and all trucks connected by piping also caught fire. The fire burned 22 trucks, each valued at more than $1 million.
No one was injured in the fire. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Rig Count Drops by 14
The rig count is continuing to drop, but last week it was primarily natural gas rigs that took the biggest hit, according to data released by oilfield services company Baker Hughes on Jan. 15.
The Houston-based company reported there were 650 rigs active at the end of week, a decline of 14 from the previous week. There were 515 seeking oil (down one from the previous week) and 135 for natural gas (down 13).
Last year at this time 1,676 rigs were active.
Oklahoma saw an increase of four rigs last week, while Pennsylvania, Kansas and California all increased by one rig. Declining by one rig were Ohio and Wyoming, while North Dakota, New Mexico and Colorado each dropped two rigs. Louisiana went down by five rigs and Texas lost seven rigs.
Suncor Energy, Canadian Oil Sands Reach Friendly Deal
Suncor Energy and Canadian Oil Sands confirmed Jan. 18 that they had reached a friendly deal after Suncor agreed to raise its takeover offer for its rival to about $4.24 billion Canadian dollars ($2.92 billion U.S.).
The two Canadian energy companies had been working on a revised bid since Jan. 15. The new all-stock offer consists of a 0.28 of a Suncor share for each Canadian Oil Sands share, up from 0.25 of a share previously.
In a joint press release, the boards of both companies support the revised bid. The revised offer will remain open until Feb. 5.
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