Major oil spill on Keystone Pipeline under containment
The Keystone pipeline leak, estimated at more than 2.2 million liters of crude oil, could be the largest US oil spill since 2013.
The cause of the pipe rupture was not immediately identified. (illustrative image)
Getty Images via AFP
A leak on the Keystone pipeline, which has spilled up to 2.2 million liters of crude oil into a US waterway, was on track to be brought under control on Friday, according to US authorities.
If the estimated size of the spill 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.
“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.
Dam set up
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 installed an earth dam about 6 kilometers downstream from the accident “to prevent further oil spills”.
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 on Friday.
Rising oil prices
The Keystone pipeline transports hydrocarbons from the province of Alberta in western Canada to various destinations in the United States. It currently carries about 600,000 barrels a day in normal times. At around 7pm GMT (8pm Swiss time) on Friday, the company said it was still evaluating when it might 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.
AFP extension
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