Cenovus Energy is continuing to make progress on its Rush Lake 2 clean up.
Progress is being made on the Rush Lake 2 P-pad which includes final isolation, investigation and abandonment of well P-4, which Cenovus says is the source of the steam release to the surface.
Read more: Cenovus reports Rush Lake “stabilized”
They say the well was brought under control on July 17, allowing Cenovus to start their site clean up and remediation.
“Extensive well integrity work has been progressing across the Rush Lake area and with this work now advancing, the company is developing plans for a safe restart by year-end for parts of the Rush Lake field unrelated to the incident,” Cenovus said in a news release. “Any resumption of operations would be dependent on approval from the Minister of Energy and Resources.”
The initial restart plans will focus on the well pads that were shut down as a precaution when the steam release occurred. Well integrity checks will be done on any pad before it is considered for restart.
Other activities, including the excavation and disposal of impacted surface soil on and adjacent to P-pad are underway.
Cenovus says they’ve completed a comprehensive seismic program to better understand the current state of the underground formations across the Rush Lake Area. They say the program verifies the integrity of the caprock which remains fully intact.
Clean up, winterization activities and preparations for an eventual restart will continue in the coming weeks at the Rush Lake site. Area residents may see non-production drill and service rigs onsite and in the area and some construction and some flaring.
Read more: Rush Lake fully stopped, says latest Cenovus update
