JEFFERSON CITY, MO – TransCanada believes its Keystone pipeline is likely the source of an oil leak near St. Louis that Missouri officials have estimated at 1,800 gallons.
Sections of both the Keystone pipeline were closed as crews sought to find the source of the leak, which was discovered Wednesday in St. Charles County.
Missouri Department of Natural Resources spokesman Brian Quinn says the pipeline will remain closed until the cause is determined and necessary repairs or corrections can be made and verified.
Quinn has said the spill was contained to an area of about 4,000 square feet and did not reach any waterways, including the Mississippi River, which is only about 2,000 feet away.
The Keystone Pipeline runs through Nebraska. Transcanada has been embroiled in a nearly decade-long battle to build a second pipeline, Keystone XL, through Nebraska.
Missouri oil leak prompts closure of Keystone pipeline parts of in Nebraska
ST. LOUIS – An oil leak near St. Louis prompted the closure of parts of two pipelines as crews work to determine the source, company officials and Missouri regulators said Thursday.
The Mississippi River is about 2,000 feet from the spill site. A state official said the spill did not reach any waterways.
The leak was discovered Wednesday near St. Charles, Missouri, about 30 miles northwest of St. Louis. TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone pipeline and Enbridge Inc.’s Platte pipeline are among several that run through the area. Crews on Thursday were preparing excavation work to figure out where the leak originated.
“The source of the release has not been fully determined, but it is apparent that it originated at either the TransCanada Keystone pipeline or the Enbridge pipeline; there is no visible release near the other pipelines,” Missouri Department of Natural Resources spokesman Brian Quinn said in an email.
TransCanada spokesman Terry Cunha said in a statement that the Keystone pipeline was closed from Steele City, Nebraska, to Patoka, Illinois. Enbridge’s Platte pipeline was initially closed from Casper, Wyoming, to Wood River, Illinois. By Thursday, only the section from Salisbury, Missouri, to Wood River remained closed, a company spokesman said in an email. Both companies are based in Canada and have cleanup crews at the site.
Quinn said the spill was contained to an area of about 4,000 square feet.
A St. Charles County spokeswoman said there did not appear to be any evacuations since the area near the leak is not heavily populated.
The 30-inch diameter Keystone line and the 20-inch diameter Enbridge line are both buried about 8 feet below ground, Quinn said.
Shares of TransCanada and Enbridge stock both dropped about 1 percent.
