Article content continued

Duncan said none of the inspections has raised concerns about shoreline instability. He was reluctant to comment on what impact — if any — its investigation would have on the province’s regulatory regime.

“I don’t want to speak too much to what may come as a result of this in terms of how we regulate these types of pipelines going forward in the future, (because I think) first we need to finish our final report,” he said.

Husky has come under intense scrutiny since the spill, with experts raising questions about its claim that crews recovered about 90 per cent of the spilled oil, as well as its timeline of the spill itself. That report, which was filed in July, said the leak was detected around 8 p.m. on July 20. Husky then amended the report to say the spill wasn’t detected until 10 a.m. the following morning. It later attributed the change to a “miscommunication.”

It remains unclear when the pipeline failed. Acuren said in its technical report that “the timing of the original buckling of the pipe could not be determined in our investigation.”

Opposition NDP environment critic Cathy Sproule released a statement late Thursday.

“In light of the report from Husky on its pipeline spill, we are reaffirming our call to move away from having companies police themselves when it comes to pipeline inspections,” it read.

“The spill showed how devastating an incident like that can be to the water that many families drink and use in everyday life, but it also showed what little work is being done by the Sask. Party government to make pipeline safety a priority. The government only conducted 78 pipeline inspections last year, while the government of Alberta conducted more than 2,000. That will have to change moving forward.”

Late last month, Husky reported an adjusted third quarter loss of $100 million, bringing its year-to-date adjusted losses to $649 million. At the same time, it said it plans to expand its heavy oil operations in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

— With Leader-Post files from D.C. Fraser

amacpherson@postmedia.com

twitter.com/macphersona