BISMARCK, N.D. — A fatigue crack within the Keystone Pipeline led to an oil spill in North Dakota earlier this year that launched hundreds of barrels of oil onto farmland, in line with the pipeline operator.
In a quarterly report launched Thursday, South Bow stated preliminary findings present, “the failure resulted from a fatigue crack that originated alongside the pipe’s manufactured long-seam weld.” A fatigue crack develops from stress over time. A mechanical and metallurgical evaluation discovered the pipe and welds met trade requirements, the corporate stated.
Spill-related prices whole round $55 million, which the corporate stated it expects to recuperate by means of insurance coverage early subsequent 12 months. Via September, South Bow had obtained about $16 million in reimbursements from its insurance coverage insurance policies.
The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Supplies Security Administration ordered several corrective actions after the spill. The federal authorities shutdown delayed the discharge of a third-party “root trigger evaluation,” South Bow stated.
It is unclear when these findings will come. A South Bow spokesperson stated PHMSA is main that course of and “out of respect for the method, we are able to’t converse for them.”
The spill occurred April 8. An worker on the rural website about 60 miles southwest of Fargo heard a “mechanical bang” and shut down the pipeline inside two minutes, a state official has stated.
An estimated 3,500 barrels or 147,000 gallons of oil spilled in a area close to Fort Ransom, a small city in a forested space with out of doors recreation and scenic views. South Bow despatched vacuum vehicles and greater than 200 employees to aid the cleanup. The pipeline restarted after a six-day shutdown.
State regulators inspected the location a number of instances within the months after the spill, noting in September that “the vegetation is recovering nicely,” and that it ought to be checked once more in spring 2026, in line with an incident report.
Almost 90% of the spilled oil was recovered, in line with the report. Crews eliminated impacted soil to be disposed of elsewhere.
Native landowner Myron Hammer stated South Bow’s cleanup was accomplished in time for him to plant a soybean crop on the land.
“I am stunned that they bought all the things put again in place as fast as they did. It was an enormous challenge,” he stated.
Roughly 5 acres of land have been impacted by the spill, although South Bow utilized 40 acres or extra for all the staging space and entry, Hammer stated. Individuals and automobiles have been on website as lately as Thursday, he stated. The realm of the spill is in gently rolling farmland.
The corporate stated it has performed quite a few remedial evaluations of the pipeline and located “no injurious points” up to now, with extra in-line inspections and integrity digs to return.
The practically 2,700-mile (4,345 kilometers) Keystone Pipeline transports crude oil from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. The pipeline moved a mean 580,000 barrels per day from January by means of September of this 12 months, South Bow stated.
