- South Bow has restarted the Keystone Pipeline after a shutdown caused by a crude oil spill in North Dakota. The company said the restart would be a controlled process involving 24/7 monitoring, lower operating pressures and regulatory compliance.
- An estimated 3,500 barrels of oil spilled after a reported “mechanical bang,” with recovery efforts retrieving about 1,170 barrels by early Friday.
- The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration approved the restart plan, though the cause of the spill has not yet been disclosed, pending South Bow’s internal investigation.
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The operator of the Keystone Pipeline, South Bow, announced it restarted the system on Monday, April 14, after a crude oil spill shut down the line in North Dakota. The company called it a “carefully controlled” process involving around-the-clock monitoring, reduced operating pressures, site cleanup and adherence to federal regulatory requirements.
Where does the Keystone Pipeline operate?
The Keystone Pipeline spans 2,689 miles, transporting crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. Following the spill, it was shut down from Alberta to Illinois and Oklahoma. Meanwhile, the section between Oklahoma and the Texas Gulf Coast remained operational, according to a South Bow map.
What caused the shutdown?
A state spill response official previously stated that an employee heard a “mechanical bang” and shut down the pipeline within two minutes. The incident resulted in an estimated release of 3,500 barrels (approximately 147,000 gallons) of crude oil.
As of early Friday, April 11, vacuum trucks had recovered about 1,170 barrels (roughly 49,140 gallons), according to Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
What precautions are in place to avoid another incident?
South Bow stated that they completed repairs, inspections, and testing at the spill site. The company also indicated that it would implement pressure restrictions on sections of the pipeline in Canada and has communicated those measures to Canadian regulators.
The PHMSA approved South Bow’s plan to restart the pipeline. The company has not disclosed the specific cause of the spill but said it will release the results of its internal investigation when they become available.
