The Keystone Oil Pipeline was closed Tuesday morning after it burst in North Dakota, suspending the transport of crude oil from Canada to US refineries.
Pipeline operator Southbow said the system was shut down just before 8am on April 8th after the control center detected a sudden drop in pressure. The Canada-based company has confirmed that oil spills are included in the nearby agricultural sector. The closest town to the site is Fort Bend, North Dakota.
“The affected segments are quarantined and operational and containment resources are being mobilized to the site,” a company spokesperson told the Epoch Times via email. “Our main focus is now on mitigating safety and environmental risks for field staff.”
Employees working near Fort Ransom reportedly began an emergency closure within two minutes after hearing the “mechanical bang,” state officials said. Bill Seuss, the North Dakota Environmental Quality Department’s spill investigation program manager, said there was a “fairly good amount of oil” leaked before the pipeline was shut down, but said the spill was not expected to be “so big” compared to previous incidents. A few years ago, one of the biggest past outflows from the same pipeline occurred in Walsh County, North Dakota.
The Epoch Times has contacted the North Dakota Environmental Quality Department for additional details regarding ongoing responses and cleanup efforts.
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Completed in 2010 at a cost of $5.2 billion, the Keystone Pipeline transports crude oil from Canada from several US provinces. It will be refineries in Illinois and Oklahoma, including North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. The pipeline originally built by TC Energy has been managed by South Bow since 2024.
The expansion project, known as Keystone XL, was proposed to carry up to 830,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Alberta’s oil sands to Nebraska, providing a direct route to the Gulf refinery. However, the project faces intense opposition from environmental groups, Native American tribes and US landowners, and is concerned about ecological impacts and property rights.
According to a 2014 analysis by the State Department, the construction of Keystone XL was expected to support around 42,100 jobs, including around 3,900 direct construction jobs in Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas over a period of one to two years. Once operational, the pipeline required around 50 US employees (35 permanent contractors and 15 contractors).
The National Regulatory Research Institute estimates the project will contribute roughly $3.4 billion to US gross domestic product. It was also expected to generate approximately $55.6 million in property tax revenue per year in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, bringing benefits to both state and local governments.
