UPDATE: Husky granted extension for investigation into northern Sask. oil spill

Husky Energy now has at least another 30 days to submit its report into what caused thousands of litres of oil to spill into the North Saskatchewan River over the summer.

The company has been granted the extension from the Saskatchewan government. An estimated 225,000 litres seeped into the river in July. Husky said it has cleaned up all but 15,000 litres.

That accounts for roughly seven per cent left of the total volume spilled, as 93 per cent has been recovered to date according to the Ministry of the Environment.

The area of the spill is reported to cover 41,500 sq. m. The province said it will be double checking figures from Husky.

“All of the data that we received today, those volumetric data and measurement data, we still have work ahead of us to make sure we understand how they calculated and can verify whether we feel that the values are correct,” said Doug MacKnight in the Ministry of the Economy.

Originally, Husky had 90 days after the spill to file a report. An extension was requested since the company is waiting on its own reports from third-party engineering firms.

“This is a major piece of scientific and engineering research that has to go on… there is a lot of work involved here and so the priority is getting a thorough report,” MacKnight remarked.

The extension means Husky won’t have to file the report until Nov. 21, 2016. The company could ask for another extension but the government says its expectation is that report will be delivered at that time.