Chevron is still working on the ongoing oil seep at the North Burnaby refinery, with no end in sight.
The oil seep was first discovered along the north side of the refinery in April 2010. A mix of oil, diesel and crude was seeping off the property through the groundwater. Clean-up efforts have focused on stopping the material from seeping offsite and cleaning it up when it does.
Chevron spokesperson Ray Lord could not say if the seep would ever end.
"We're not in a position to speculate, but we will be managing it as long as it takes," he said.
Chevron's aging sewer system seems to be one source of leaking oil, so the company bypassed a section.
"We had reason to believe it may have had breaks in it," Lord said. "It had been there since the '50s."
When questioned on the volume of oil to date, Lord couldn't answer.
"It's hard to put an actual number on it because we are dealing with ground water," he said. "However, we are seeing good results, we are seeing less material coming out of the extraction pumps."
According to a report prepared for Chevron, the seeping material is a mix of "semi-refined petroleum hydrocarbons in the diesel and straightrun gasoline ranges, along with the potential for small amounts of jet fuel and/or crude oil."
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