A leak on the Keystone pipeline, which has spilled up to 2.2 million liters of crude oil into a US waterway, was being brought under control on Friday, according to US authorities. If the estimate of the extent of the flow is confirmed, it will be the largest oil spill in the United States since 2013, according to the Pipeline Safety Trust, which promotes pipeline safety.
Canadian company TC Energy, which manages the infrastructure, located the incident Wednesday evening in Kansas and immediately shut off the flow of hydrocarbons in the pipe.
A dam set up
“The affected segment remains isolated” and downstream oil flow “is contained,” the company said in a message Friday. The cause of the pipe rupture was not immediately identified. “We are monitoring and investigating the Keystone pipeline leak,” US Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in a tweet.
The pipeline safety agency (PHMSA) had urged the company Thursday to take “all necessary steps to protect the public, property and the environment from potential dangers” related to the leak.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, TC Energy erected an earth dam about 6 kilometers downstream from the accident “to prevent further oil spills”.
Increase in the price of the barrel
The group also brought in garbage trucks and equipment to recover spilled oil in Mill Creek water. Product recovery is expected to continue into next week, the agency said in a statement Friday.
The Keystone pipeline transports hydrocarbons from the province of Alberta in western Canada to various destinations in the United States. It currently transports about 600,000 barrels a day in normal times.
On Friday, the company said it was still considering when to restart the service. The PHMSA agency must give the green light. Oil prices surged temporarily on Thursday after news of the leak before falling again.
The impact of the incident on the energy market will depend on the duration of the suspension of Keystone, which in particular brings crude oil to the Cushing terminal in Oklahoma where American oil used as a reference for investors is stored.
