Leak Detected in Keystone Pipeline Ahead of Nebraska Vote on Extension -- Update
November 16 2017 - 5:48PM
Dow Jones News
By Vipal Monga
TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone pipeline leaked roughly 5,000
barrels of oil in South Dakota, the company announced on
Thursday.
Although the company isolated the problem quickly and shut down
the pipeline, the leak comes only a few days before the Nebraska
Public Service Commission decides whether to let the company build
a controversial extension through their state.
TransCanada shut down the pipeline Wednesday morning after its
systems detected the leak, the company said in a statement. The
leak amounts to 210,000 gallons. Sections of the pipeline that runs
from Canada's Alberta province to Illinois will be shut, although
parts of the southern leg to Texas will stay open.
The leak comes at an awkward time for Calgary-based TransCanada.
The company is seeking approval to build an extension of the
pipeline and is awaiting an important vote from the Nebraska Public
Service Commission, expected on Monday.
Opponents of the extension, who argue that it endangers the
environment, said the leak only demonstrates the weakness of the
pipeline. Thursday's leak is much larger than a leak in South
Dakota last year, said Jane Kleeb, founder of Keystone opposition
group Bold Nebraska.
"Here is one more reason the PSC should side with Nebraskans
over this foreign oil company," she said, in an interview. She said
the group is pushing news of Thursday's leak on social media sites
and has hired an aerial photographer to take pictures of the area
in South Dakota where the oil leaked, near the border with North
Dakota.
TransCanada spokespeople didn't respond to requests for
comment.
Write to Vipal Monga at vipal.monga@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 16, 2017 18:33 ET (23:33 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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