Work remains halted at an oil and gas site in northern Alberta where two contractors died Saturday in an explosion.
Tamarack Valley Energy Ltd. CEO Brian Schmidt says he doesn’t know when the company will restart operations at the site.
The province has issued two stop-work orders that say the site cannot resume operating until there is a protection system in place and that work can be safely done near potential sources of ignition or explosion.
Both the company and Occupational Health and Safety are investigating the blast, which occurred in the Marten Hills area northwest of Slave Lake, Alta.
The names of the victims have not been released.
Mr. Schmidt says he is personally devastated by the deaths of the two contract employees, which are the first workplace deaths in Tamarack’s history.
“The families were notified and are going through a very difficult time,” Mr. Schmidt said in an e-mail. “We wish to extend our deepest sympathies to the families of this tragic accident.”
He said an ambulance, RCMP, the provincial government and the Alberta Energy regulator were all notified after the blast and the company enacted emergency procedures and isolated the site.
“Tamarack Valley has an excellent safety track record. We are deeply saddened by this event and are taking this very seriously.”
Tamarack Valley acquired the site where the explosion took place earlier this year, as part of its $1.4 billion acquisition of Deltastream Energy Corp.