Shannon Phillips, Marg McCuaig-Boyd to visit Nexen spill site

After nearly a week of silence, Alberta's environment and energy ministers announced they will visit the site of the Nexen pipeline leak on Friday.

Environment Minister Shannon Phillips and Energy Minister Marg McCuaig-Boyd will also meet with members of the Fort McMurray First Nation, the Alberta Energy Regulator and Nexen.

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"Right now, our focus is ensuring all stakeholders are working together to minimize environmental impacts and preserve traditional land use," Phillips said in a written statement.

"We expect government, the AER, the company and the broader industry to learn from this and take steps to help prevent future spills."

The leak was discovered last Wednesday by a contractor walking along the pipeline at Nexen's Long Lake oilsands facility.

Five million litres of bitumen emulsion spilled onto a right-of-way near the site.

Premier Rachel Notley has said she's concerned about the spill, but thinks pipelines are still safer than railways for transporting oil and gas.