Eva Deschamps / December 11, 2022
A leak on the Keystone pipeline that spilled up to 2.2 million gallons of crude oil into a U.S. river was being contained Friday, U.S. officials said.
If the estimate on the size of the spill is confirmed, it will be the largest oil leak in the United States since 2013, according to the Pipeline Safety Trust, which promotes pipeline safety.
Canadian company TC Energy, which operates the infrastructure, spotted the incident Wednesday night in Kansas and in the aftermath stopped the flow of oil through the pipe in an emergency.
"The affected segment remains isolated" and downstream oil flow "is contained," the company said in a message Friday.
The cause of the pipe rupture had not been immediately identified.
We are monitoring and investigating the Keystone pipeline leak," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a tweet.
The agency in charge of pipeline safety (PHMSA) had ordered the company on Thursday to take "all necessary steps to protect the public, property and the environment from potential hazards" related to the leak.
According to the environmental protection agency, TC Energy has put in place an earthen dam about 6 kilometers downstream from the incident "to prevent any further oil spills ».
The group also brought in vacuum trucks and equipment to recover oil spilled in Mill Creek water.
Product recovery is expected to continue through next week, the agency said in a statement Friday.
The Keystone pipeline transports oil from the western Canadian province of Alberta to several destinations in the United States. It currently carries about 600,000 barrels per day under normal circumstances.
On Friday, the company said it was still assessing when it could restart service. The PHMSA agency must give the green light.
Oil prices temporarily climbed on Thursday after the leak was announced, before falling back.
The impact of the incident on the energy market will depend on how long Keystone, which brings crude oil to the Cushing terminal in Oklahoma where U.S. oil is stored as a reference for investors, is suspended.