Husky Energy has been fined 2.5 million dollars for its roll in causing the largest oil spill in this province’s history.

The sentence was handed down today in provincial court in St. John’s and was in keeping with a joint recommendation made by lawyers earlier this year.

Husky pleaded guilty to three charges — resuming work before ensuring it was safe to do so without pollution, and violating the Fisheries Act and Migratory Birds Convention Act.

It was Nov. 16, 2018, when 250,000 litres of crude oil seeped into the Atlantic Ocean. It came from a leak in a flowline to the Sea Rose FPSO about 350 kilometres east of St. John’s. In total, it was more than 20 kilometres long and eight kilometres wide.

In a prepared statement issued today via email, Cenovus Energy, which acquired Husky in January 2021, said the company deeply regrets the incident.

“We work hard every day to protect each other, our communities and the environment …”

“From the start, we took full responsibility and worked to identify and implement corrective actions, with oversight from the regulator and certifying authorities.”

It went on to say the company has shared lessons learned to industry partners to help prevent such incidents from happening again.