Operator fined in fracking pond drowning death in northern Alberta

An oil and natural gas company has been convicted for failing to protect a worker who drowned in a northern Alberta fracking pond nearly three years ago.

Calgary-based Birchcliff Energy Ltd. has been convicted of a single count under the Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act and penalized more than $312,000 in court. 

The charges were laid in the death of David Olesiuk, who was killed on Oct. 10, 2023 when he fell into a hydraulic fracturing reservoir while collecting samples.

The operator pleaded guilty on Aug. 14, in the Grande Prairie Court of Justice for failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker.

• Alberta oil and gas company charged in 2023 drowning death of contractor in fracking pond

Government officials say the workplace fatality occurred at an oil and gas site west of Spirit River, in an unincorporated community about 90 kilometres north of Grande Prairie in northern Alberta. The company operates a number of oil operations in the area.

The company was ordered, under OHS Act section 49, to pay a creative sentence, a legal penalty under the province's Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act intended to prevent similar workplace tragedies. 

The company will provide $200,000 to Energy Safety Canada, an industry training centre in Calgary, for the development of an industry awareness and training program focused on managing serious injury and fatality risks in surface water operations. 

The court also ordered the company to pay $112,500 to Saddle Hills County Protective Services to develop surface ice water rescue training and support the purchase of ice water rescue equipment.

The other charges initially laid in the case were withdrawn.

The company and the Crown have up to 30 days to appeal the conviction or penalty.