Operating a major segment of the Keystone oil pipeline would be “hazardous” without changes to improve its safety, federal regulators said Friday night, days after the conduit leaked oil in North Dakota.
In a corrective action order, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said the “accident segment” — a roughly 45-mile stretch of pipeline — “must remain shut-in and may not be operated” until PHMSA authorizes its restart in writing.
The agency also said that before resuming operation of the “affected pipeline” — a 1,025-mile segment that runs from the U.S.-Canada border in North Dakota to southern Illinois — operator South Bow must develop and submit a written restart plan for approval.
PHMSA said the rupture last week appears similar to a tear in October 2019 that happened about 130 miles north of last week’s incident. The 2019 rupture “exhibited characteristics of fatigue from pressure cycles” and defects in a weld seam, PHMSA said, adding that “the failure mechanism in this event appears to be similar to the failure mechanism that caused the current Failure.”
