Keystone Pipeline restarted after oil spill in rural North Dakota

The Associated Press

· Posted: Apr 15, 2025 4:44 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

The relation of the Keystone lipid pipeline restarted the strategy Monday aft a spill onto farmland successful North Dakota past week unopen down the line.

South Bow said it was watching inclement upwind conditions earlier opening "a cautiously controlled restart" that volition see 24/7 monitoring, reduced operating pressures, cleanup of the tract and compliance with national regulators' requirements. The national Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said South Bow restarted the pipeline astatine a reduced pressure.

The failed conception was dug retired and replaced and volition beryllium taken to a metallurgical laboratory successful Houston for testing, portion the repaired pipeline volition beryllium tested astatine antithetic pressures to guarantee its integrity, the bureau said.

The agency's probe is ongoing. It is unclear what caused the spill.

The institution said it has finished each repairs, inspections and investigating astatine the spill site. The bureau said it signed disconnected connected the company's restart plan.

South Bow besides said it volition enactment definite unit restrictions connected the pipeline's Canadian sections, and has shared those details with Canadian regulators.

The company's update did not notation a origin of the spill, though the institution said it would stock probe findings erstwhile available. An worker heard a "mechanical bang" and unopen down the pipeline wrong 2 minutes, a authorities spill effect authoritative antecedently said.

• U.S. regulators bid corrective enactment aft Keystone Pipeline spill successful North Dakota
• Cleanup underway of the Keystone lipid pipeline spill successful North Dakota

The spill is estimated astatine 3,500 barrels, oregon 556,000 litres. Vacuum trucks had recovered 1,170 barrels of crude oil, oregon 186,000 litres, arsenic of aboriginal Friday, according to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

The spill occurred successful a tract northbound of Fort Ransom, North Dakota, a tiny municipality successful a forested country known for scenic views and outdoor recreation.

The 4,327-kilometre Keystone Pipeline carries crude lipid from Alberta to refineries successful Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas.

The pipeline was unopen down from Alberta to points successful Illinois and a liquid vessel terminal Oklahoma, though the enactment remained unfastened betwixt Oklahoma and the Texas Gulf Coast, according to a representation from South Bow.

Lower lipid prices owed to tariff issues helped mute challenges from the pipeline shutdown connected state prices, though diesel prices could inactive inch up, said Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice-president for vigor and innovation astatine the University of Houston.

Gas prices person fallen successful astir each authorities successful the past week owed to the lipid terms driblet resulting from the tariff and commercialized warfare concerns, said Patrick De Haan, caput of petroleum investigation for GasBuddy, which tracks state prices.

"I wouldn't person expected this to truly person overmuch of an interaction anyway, but with lipid prices actively having plummeted implicit the past week, yes, I would accidental that the diminution was much than offset," helium said.