Suncor pleads guilty to 2 charges related to 2019 incident aboard Terra Nova

Suncor Energy has pleaded guilty to two charges related to a 2019 incident aboard the Terra Nova floating production, storage and offloading vessel, resulting in hundreds of thousands in fines.

On Dec.29, 2019, a Suncor employee fell from a ladder inside a tank while conducting gas testing on the Terra Nova FPSO, about 350 kilometres off the coast of Newfoundland. The employee was flown to hospital with what the board called "non-life-threatening injuries."

In a statement released on Thursday, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board said Suncor pleaded guilty to the charges on Sept. 5.

The C-NLOPB, the province'soil industry regulator,said Suncor was fined $45,000 for each charge, resulting in a total of $90,000 in fines. Itwas also ordered to pay the North Atlantic Health and Safety Management Program a sum of $20,000.

Suncor had been charged with not taking reasonable measures to ensure the health and safety of employees and people onboard the vessel. The second charge was in relation tofailing to ensure all employees wore safety harnesses attached to a secure and anchored lifeline while in a confined space.

The charges came after C-NLOPB's occupational health and safety officers investigated the 2019 incident.

In an agreed statement of facts, "as an employer, [Suncor]failed to ensure that workers wore a safety harness that was securely attached to a lifeline that was attached to a secure anchor outside of the ballast tank when entering into the ballast tank."

"As well, [Suncor]did not ensure that workers wore protection equipment when entering the ballast tank in response to the emergency situation."

It also stated that the injured worker had a head injury and multiple fractures that required surgery, and he was hospitalized for several weeks.

Suncorcommunications representative, Leithan Sladesaid the company pled guilty because theydidn't meet their safety requirements.

"We did not meet our commitment to send people home safely at the end of every shift, and that's why we are supportive of the creative sentence," Slade said.

Following the incident and investigation, Suncorsaid it tooksteps to improve its safety practices, but Slade couldn't provide specific details.

"For example, we've updated our work plans to improve access to and egress from a confined space," he said.

The company also couldn't confirm whether the injured worker returned to work after the incident.

On Dec. 19 almost two weeks before the employee fell aboard the Terra Nova FPSO Suncor was told to stop production due to defective redundant fire-water pumps on the Terra Nova.

Then in January 2020 the industry regulator ordered Suncor Energy to stop all confined-space work at its Terra Nova oil platform. Theboard also ordered that all confined-space work policies and procedures be reviewed by Suncor and updated for compliance with regulatory requirements.

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