THE MAZEPPA SOUR GAS STORY
I re-examined that 1D study in 2023 - a comprehensive 3D study would have yielded approximately 600,000 fatalities. Calgary didn’t “dodge a bullet"; we dodged a nuke.
“All these people are happy and smiling, and they are completely oblivious to the fact that they were almost annihilated.“
This near-miss happened under Rachel Notley’s incompetent NDP government. Because of the NDP’s incredible negligence, we almost lost Calgary.
- Allan MacRae
THE MAZEPPA SOUR GAS STORY
I received an award in March 2018 from the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) for averting a potential major sour gas disaster in 2016 in Calgary.
The new foreign owners of the Mazeppa project were producing 40% H2S critical sour gas from ~12 wells within one mile of populous SE Calgary suburbs, and to save money they had ceased the required monthly injection of anti-corrosion chemicals into the pipelines seven months earlier. This was extremely dangerous, because sour gas is highly corrosive to the steel pipelines that carry the gas to the processing plant.
Fortunately, a friend called me with this vital information. I was familiar with the project from decades ago. I was General Manager of Engineering for the company that formerly owned this project and about 20 others. The remarkable coincidence is my informant did not know of my history with this project; he just wanted to talk to someone about his corrupt foreign bosses.
The staff at the project were afraid to report the dangerous situation because they feared physical retaliation from the foreign owners, who they believed were violent thugs.
H2S is heavier than air and hugs the ground, and just 0.1% concentration is instantly fatal. I investigated, reported the matter to the Alberta Energy Regulator, followed-up to ensure compliance and the project was shut down and was made safe. I later learned that some of the sour gas pipelines had already experienced minor perforations and leaks.
A safety study done in 2005 estimated the kill radius from the loss of a single sour gas well was 15km, so potential loss of life in a major discharge of H2S in 2016 could have totaled up to 300,000 people, wiping out the SE quadrant of Calgary.
I re-examined that 1D study in 2023 and realized it was acceptable for the purpose, but it minimized the problem. A comprehensive 3D study would have yielded approximately 600,000 fatalities. To put this near-miss in perspective, that 600,000 potential fatalities is equivalent to two hundred 9-11’s, twelve Hiroshima’s, or eight Nagasaki’s. Calgary didn’t “dodge a bullet”; we dodged a nuke.
The press reported the problem with some inaccuracies, but were generally adequate. The Alberta Energy Regulator tried to pretend they were on top of the situation and aware of the danger, but they clearly were not.
The total reprimand against the foreign owners was the most severe in Alberta history.
- Allan MacRae, Calgary
Post Script
My informant in the Mazeppa incident died recently – he remained fearful of retaliation by the foreign thugs even though I never revealed his name, and he spiraled down into alcoholism. He once was a very good man and he did the right thing; his vital information saved hundreds of thousands of lives.
Having taken significant risks to save ~600,000 Calgarians from probable death from sour gas, I’m doubly offended that the Covid-vaccines have been deployed to kill thousands of my fellow Albertans. I tried, but could not save them a second time.
I identified the Covid-19 fraud in Feb2020 and published on 21Mar2020: NO harmful Lockdowns!
I wrote our governments and media on 8Jan2021 to NOT deploy the toxic Covid-19 “vaccines”.
My career track record on these and other matters is sufficiently strong that the woke imbeciles in government and media should have heeded my concerns.
See https://Energy-Experts-International.com that describes our successful initiatives that revitalized the Alberta and Canadian economies, created 500,000 jobs and made Canada the 4th largest oil producer in the world, More than a trillion dollars was added into the Canadian economy. I primarily initiated most of these successful changes before I was 40 years of age.
In summary, approximately 9,000 Albertans have died to end 2022 from the toxic Covid-19 injections, and that toll will increase to 14,000 by end 2023 unless remedial treatments of the vaxxed are started soon. Millions more are Covid-19 vax-injured.
Save lives!
COVID & CLIMATE CHRONICLES - THE BIG CULL
SEND THIS SUMMARY AND LINK TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW.
This is my free book about the Covid and Climate frauds.
This is why I wrote it:
Fine young faces, our future, killed by the vaxxes. I warned everyone three years ago!
I’ve watched this carnage unfold, identified it in Feb2020, published since 21Mar2020, and was ignored. Now 13 million Covid-19 vaxx-deaths worldwide, 19 million by end 2023 unless remedial treatments of the vaxxed are started soon.
I’m just trying to save lives; millions of lives.
Regards, Allan MacRae, Calgary
SELECTED REFERENCES TO THE MAZEPPA SOUR GAS THREAT
The reporters got a few minor facts wrong – but no matter.
A. AER SUSPENDS MAZEPPA PLANT OPERATIONS AMID CONCERNS
High River Times, August 27, 2016
Previously at http://www.highrivertimes.com/2016/08/25/aer-suspends-mazeppa-plant-operations-amid-concerns
AER SUSPENDS MAZEPPA PLANT OPERATIONS AMID CONCERNS
By Paul Krajewski , Saturday, August 27, 2016 5:33:46 MDT PM
Months before the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) ordered the suspension of all operations at the Mazeppa sour gas processing plant on Aug. 9, it was a former company engineer who informed the regulator about serious safety concerns he had regarding the facility and infrastructure.
Allan MacRae, member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA), reached out to the regulator about what he referred to as potentially “disastrous” safety risks the plant’s operation posed to the public and environment in the months leading up to the AER order.
In an email sent to the regulator’s senior executive on May 28, MacRae stated he had serious safety concerns about the plant that is owned and operated by Lexin Resources Ltd. and LR Processing Ltd.
In May, MacRae said he became aware of issues at the facility and its infrastructure and conducted his own week-long investigation using public records and verbal discussions to corroborate the allegations.
During the early 1990s, MacRae said he was the general manager of engineering for Canadian Occidental Petroleum Ltd., known today as Nexen. He noted the company owned and operated the Mazeppa plant until it was taken over by Compton Petroleum Corp. and, most recently, Lexin.
In a statement from the AER, the information MacRae provided was used in the regulator’s overall inspection and compliance assurance process.
In the initial email, MacRae stated Lexin and LR allegedly failed to pay surface lease rentals, which resulted in loss of access to sour gas wells. The firms also allegedly conducted infrequent injection of anti-corrosion chemicals to its gas pipeline gathering systems and provided inadequate financial resources for plant maintenance, he added.
From his understanding, MacRae said the plant handled sour gas up to 40 per cent hydrogen sulfide (H2S), the maximum amount permitted under AER regulations, with wells located within 2.4 kms of highly populated areas of Calgary.
He said sour gas is a naturally occurring substance that contains significant amounts of H2S and, if released to the atmosphere, could pose extreme health risks to the public and environment.
“As little as 0.1 per cent H2S is instantly fatal when inhaled,” he added.
As a result of his investigation, MacRae advised the AER he found standard maintenance was allegedly not being adequately performed at the facility and infrastructure, which he believed could result in an increased risk of H2S being released into the atmosphere.
“If a large release of H2S occurred and the wind direction was unfavourable, I believe there would be no time to evacuate the nearby communities and a major catastrophe could occur,” he said.
Even if the risk of H2S release was moderate, MacRae said the consequences could still be disastrous.
As a member of APEGA, MacRae said he is ethically obligated to report concerns related to public and environmental safety. For this reason, he informed the regulator of his findings.
As of Aug. 23, the AER reported in an email provided to the Times all but one pipeline associated to the Mazeppa plant had been depressurized, but gave no indication when it would be fully suspended as per AER shut-in requirements. These include each pipe being emptied, purged, isolated and left in a safe state.
Ryan Bartlett, AER public affairs advisor, said the regulator has worked with Lexin and LR to address a number of issues related to facility and infrastructure operations at the plant for several months.
Bartlett said the regulator performed an inspection in February and identified a number of deficiencies.
However, he noted Lexin failed to comply with AER requirements between February and June and was ordered to suspend all facility and infrastructure operations on Aug. 9.
“(This was done) to ensure the plant is in a safe state with no risk to the public or environment,” Bartlett said.
The AER order document from Aug. 9 stated Lexin and LR informed the regulator on June 29 that its sour gas release monitoring system was no longer operational and that if an incident or emergency occurred, the regulator would be responsible for managing the situation, not the firms in question.
In the AER order, the regulator also stated the firms terminated the majority of the plant’s staff on June 30 and left six employees to operate and manage the Mazeppa facility and infrastructure.
Bartlett said the AER continues to monitor and inspect plant operations regularly and prioritizes issues with potential impact to public and environmental safety.
Additionally, he said Lexin and LR have been ordered to provide a comprehensive plan about how the companies will respond to incidents and monitor ongoing operations.
If Lexin fails to comply with AER requirements, Bartlett said the regulator can order complete suspension or abandonment of other energy infrastructure, charge administrative penalties, institute legal proceedings or sanction upper management against working in the province.
“All licensees in Alberta are required to follow our requirements,” he said. “Our rules apply across the board.”
Lexin and its associated firms were reached out to by email and phone for a response multiple times. No answers were provided to the Times by publication date.
B. WATCHDOG TAKES UNPRECEDENTED STEP OF FORCING OIL AND GAS PRODUCER INTO RECEIVERSHIP
Calgary Herald, March 21, 2017
C. LEXIN RESOURCES AND THE DARK SIDE OF ALBERTA'S DOWNTURN
CBC, April 24, 2017
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/lexin-resources-what-went-wrong-1.4038838
D. IN REVERSAL, LEXIN ADMITS TO BREAKING ENVIRONMENTAL, INDUSTRY RULES
Calgary Herald. July 10, 2017
http://calgaryherald.com/business/energy/lexin-agrees-it-breached-environmental-industry-rules
E. ERCB DECISION 2005-060 RE COMPTON PETROLEUM CORP. APPLICATION TO DRILL SIX CRITICAL SOUR GAS WELLS – SE Calgary area 22 June 2001)
http://elc.ab.ca/Content_Files/Files/NewsBriefs/EUBgiveconditionalgreenlight-Vol20-3.pdf
[excerpt]
For Compton’s well applications, the calculated EPZ radius was 11.94 km during the drilling phase and 14.97 km during the completion phase. It was estimated that more than 250,000 people lived and worked within the calculated 14.97 km EPZ.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allan M.R. MacRae, B.A.Sc.(Eng.) Queen’s U, M.Eng. U of Alberta
https://energy-experts-international.com
Conducted business at a senior level on six of the world’s seven continents.
Recommended AGAINST the Covid-19 lockdowns on 21March2020, in a post essentially identical to the Great Barrington Declaration published 6 months later by the world’s top experts.
Highlighted the significant risks of the experimental Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 mRNA injections and the high risk-low reward of these injections to under-65’s and especially to very-low-risk groups including schoolchildren, on 8January2021.
Safeguarded up to 600,000 Calgarians from probable death by intervening to shut down the Mazeppa sour gas project; MacRae was honored by the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Authored ~12 papers since 2002 that prove catastrophic human-made global warming is a false crisis, and intermittent green energy is not a practical solution.
Co-authored a 2015 paper on Excess Winter Mortality entitled “Cold Weather Kills 20 Times As Many People As Hot Weather”.
Advocated since 2002 against the fraudulent claims of leftist extremists that have cost Alberta and Canada over $200 billion in lost oil revenues.
Wrote the competent Energy Policy for the Wild Rose Party, rejecting the destructive Stelmach Royalty changes.
Initiated the New Oilsands Royalty Terms and the New Oilsands Tax Terms implemented by the Klein PC’s and the Feds and also the reduction of Syncrude Canada Ltd. production costs from $18 to $12 per barrel.
Incorporated these initiatives into a comprehensive strategy for Syncrude Canada Ltd, which was implemented and was instrumental in the successful growth of Syncrude and the Alberta oil sands industry.
Result: $250 billion capital investment in Alberta, 500,000 new jobs created in Canada and more than a trillion dollars injected into our economy. Canada became the 4th largest oil producer in the world, the largest foreign supplier of energy to the USA and for two decades was the strongest economy of the G8 countries. ~80% of that oil production is from Alberta.
Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
- Matthew 25:40
This is my creed. It was the creed of my father and my grandfathers - they lived it.