Missouri Leak Prompts Closure of Parts of 2 Oil Pipelines
2/8/2019

ST. LOUIS (AP) – 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 leak was discovered Wednesday near St. Charles, Mo., about 30 miles (48 km) northwest of St. Louis. TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone pipeline and Enbridge’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.
TransCanada spokesman Terry Cunha said in a statement that the Keystone pipeline was closed from Steele City, Neb., to Patoka, Ill. Enbridge’s Platte pipeline was initially closed from Casper, Wyo., to Wood River, Ill. 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.
Officials don’t yet know how much oil leaked, but the DNR’s preliminary estimate is 43 barrels, or 1,800 gallons (6,814 liters). Quinn said the spill was contained to an area of about 4,000 square feet (372 square meters), and did not reach any waterways, including the Mississippi River, which is about 2,000 feet (610 meters) away.
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 (76-cm) Keystone line and the 20-inch (51-cm) Enbridge line are both buried about 8 feet (2.4 meters) below the surface, Quinn said.
Related News
Related News
Sign up to Receive Our Newsletter

- FERC Chairman Details Position on Natural Gas Pipelines
- Perspective: 'Blockadia' Helped Cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline
- NYC Natural Gas Ban Costs Potentially ‘Astronomical’
- Cold Weather Leads to Near-Record Withdrawals from Underground Natural Gas Storage
- 18 Companies Quit Nord Stream 2 Pipeline Project
- Spotlight on South America: New Gas Pipeline to Boost Northern Peru
- Duke Energy Begins Replacing Aging Gas Pipeline
- NYC Natural Gas Ban Costs Potentially ‘Astronomical’
- White House Climate Czar and Big Oil Meet, Talk Cooperation
- After Winter Crisis, Texas Power Grid Assures It Will Meet Record Summer Demand
Pipeline Project Spotlight
Owner:
Gaz-System, Energinet
Project:
Baltic Pipe
Type:
Baltic Pipe will transport Norwegian natural gas from the Norwegian North Sea via Denmark to Poland.
Length:
560 miles (900 km)
Capacity:
110 Bcf per annum
Start:
Q2 2020
Completion:
Q4 2022
Comments