The controversial Keystone pipeline has leaked more oil than any other similar network since it was commissioned in 2010, according to federal data cited by the media.
Over the past 12 years, the massive pipeline has increasingly triggered controversy as more than 26,000 barrels of crude oil is estimated to have been spilt as a result of some two dozen accidents in the time.
In yet another such incident, the Keystone, which stretches for about 4,324km (2,687 miles) from Alberta in Canada to Port Arthur in Texas, US, spewed an estimated 14,000 barrels into a creek in north-eastern Kansas on 7 December. The leak prompted the Canada-based operator TC Energy to shut down the system.
As clean-up operations continue, the operator has been issued a corrective order by the US Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The company has been instructed to deal with the present leak, and subsequently develop and submit for approval a “restart plan”. The operator will also be required to submit quarterly reports.
In this March 11, 2020, file photo provided by the Bureau of Land Management, shows the proposed route of the Keystone XL oil pipeline where it crosses into the United States from Canada in Phillips County, Mont.
© AP Photo / Al Nash
Over the past 12 years, the massive pipeline has increasingly triggered controversy as more than 26,000 barrels of crude oil is estimated to have been spilt as a result of some two dozen accidents in this time.
According to data from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released in 2021, the “severity” of Keystone’s spills “has worsened in recent years”.
Of the 22 breaches registered between 2010 and 2020, six ticked all the boxes for an incident “impacting people or the environment”, according to the GAO.
TC Energy did not provide details of the latest breach in the pipeline. During the clean-up and containment efforts, the spill has reportedly not threatened the water supply or forced local residents to evacuate, as it occurred in rural pastureland.
However, the spill has prompted environmentalists to question whether TC Energy should be allowed to hold onto its federal government permit greenlighting the pressure inside parts of its Keystone system to exceed the typical maximum permitted levels.
“At the time of the incident, the pipeline was operating within its design and regulatory approval requirements,” the company said in a statement.