Two investigations are underway after a gas leak was discovered at the Shell Caroline Gas Complex northwest of Sundre last week, say officials.At about noon on Dec. 13 staff at the plant identified a release of sour natural gas above ground piping in the plant's Caroline field inlet area, said Shell Canada spokesperson Stephen Doolan.ìThe release was detected and located using gas detection monitors. All the safety systems operated correctly,î said Doolan, who noted the inlet area is where gas enters the facility to be treated.There were no reported injuries in the mishap, he said.The Shell Caroline plant processes natural gas from wells in three fields: the Caroline, Limestone and Panther fields.Residents immediately around the plant were notified of the leak soon after it was detected and air quality monitoring was set up downwind of the plant, Doolan said.ìBecause this was an unplanned event, local residents were notified by telephone,î he said. ìWhere messages could not be left, Shell initiated a second round of calls until residents could be notified.ì(The monitoring) confirmed there was no danger to public health or the environment.îThe Caroline gas well field was immediately shut down when the leak was detected, while the plant itself continued to function with gas from the other two fields.Shell has launched an investigation into the cause of the leak.ìTo determine where the leak was we shut the field down and depressurized the line and that's when it was determined that it was in a pipe going into the facility,î he sad.ìThe pipe has been isolated and is no longer releasing any hydrocarbons. We are inspecting the pipe to determine the cause.îThe field will be brought back on line once the cause is determined, he said, noting a timeline for that has not been set.ìWe are going through a thorough checks and balance process to see what led to this event. It will only be started up when it is safe to do so,î he said.Shell Caroline personnel did not require any outside help to contain the leak or to shut down the field, he said.The Energy Resources Conservation Board, which is the provincial regulator of gas plant facilities, has been notified of the leak and is conducting its own investigation.
