The operator of the Keystone oil pipeline has restarted the system after an oil spill onto farmland in North Dakota last week shut down the line.
Calgary-based South Bow said it was watching inclement weather conditions before beginning “a carefully controlled restart” that will include 24/7 monitoring, reduced operating pressures, a cleanup of the site and compliance with the requirements put in place by federal regulators.
The failed section of the pipeline was dug out and replaced and will be taken to a metallurgical lab in Houston for testing, while the repaired pipeline will be tested at different pressures to ensure its integrity, said the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
The agency’s said its investigation is ongoing but so far it’s unclear what caused the spill.
The company said it has finished all repairs, inspections and testing at the spill site and the PHMSA has signed off on the company’s restart plan.
This photo provided by South Bow shows workers gathered to respond to the Keystone oil pipeline spill that occured Tuesday, April 8, 2025. near Fort Ransom, N.D.
South Bow via AP
South Bow also said it will put certain pressure restrictions on the pipeline’s Canadian sections, and has shared those details with Canadian regulators.
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The company’s update did not mention a cause of the spill, though the company said it would share investigation findings when available.
An employee heard a “mechanical bang” and shut down the pipeline within two minutes, a state spill response official previously said.
The spill is estimated at 3,500 barrels, of oil and the PHSMA estimated vacuum trucks had so far recovered about 1,170 barrels.
The spill occurred in a field north of Fort Ransom, North Dakota, a tiny town in a forested area known for scenic views and outdoor recreation.
The 4,327 kilometre Keystone Pipeline carries crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. The April 8 spill, happened at Milepost 171, near Fort Ransom, North Dakota.
Courtesy: South Bow
The 4,327 kilometre Keystone Pipeline carries crude oil from Hardisty, Alberta to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas.
The pipeline was shut down from Alberta to points in Illinois and a liquid tank terminal Oklahoma, though the line remained open between Oklahoma and Texas’ Gulf Coast, according to a map from South Bow.
Lower oil prices due to tariff issues helped prevent a jump in gasoline prices, though industry experts said diesel prices could still inch up.
Gas prices have fallen in almost every state in the last week due to the oil price drop resulting from the tariff and trade war concerns, said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy, which tracks gas prices.
“I wouldn’t have expected this to really have much of an impact anyway, but with oil prices actively having plummeted over the last week, yes, I would say that the decline was more than offset,” he said.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
