Keystone pipeline to Cushing reopened after leak discovered in Missouri

  • February 8, 2019

The shutdown of the Keystone pipeline carrying oil out of Canada to Cushing, Oklahoma as well as another line in Missouri was blamed for a large drop in Canadian crude oil prices.

Prices weakened over the shutdown of TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone pipeline from Hardisty, Alberta to Cushing which carries 590,000 barrels of oil a day. The segment connecting Steele City, Nebraska to Patoka, Illinois was also shut down as a possible leak in Missouri was under investigation.

The disruption comes as refiners seek alternative supplies of heavy crude on the U.S. Gulf Coast after sanctions on Venezuela effectively cut access to the country’s oil. Canada’s oil-sands crude serves as a similar substitute, but Alberta has struggled with pipeline bottlenecks that have forced rationing on export pipelines and prompted the province to impose mandatory production curtailments.
Enbridge restored service on a segment of the Platte pipeline running between Casper, Wyoming and Salisbury, Missouri, yet the remainder of the line downstream of Salisbury remained shut late in the week, according to Devin Hotzel, an Enbridge spokesman.
The Platte pipeline transports as much as 164,000 barrels a day of crude from Casper to Guernsey and 145,000 barrels a day from Guernsey to Wood River, Illinois.

About 43 barrels of crude spilled near the Mississippi River, Brian Quinn, spokesman for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, said in an email. It appears to have originated from either the Keystone or Platte pipelines, as there is no visible release from any other pipes in the area. Excavation to expose the lines, which are buried about eight feet underground was underway.

Jerry Bohnen