Keystone pipeline closed down after 14,000-barrel oil spill in Kansas

Canada’s TC Energy shut its Keystone pipeline in the United States after over 14,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into a creek in Kansas, making it one of the largest crude oil spillages in the US in almost a decade.

The cause of the leak, which happened in Kansas about 20 miles (32 km) south of a crucial junction in Steele City, Nebraska, is unidentified. This is the third spill of many thousand barrels of crude on the pipeline since it first opened in 2010.

The 622,000 barrel-per-day Keystone line is a vital artery shipping heavy Canadian crude oil from the province of Alberta to refiners in the US Midwest and the Gulf Coast. It is uncertain how long the cessation will last.

In a statement, US Environmental Protection Agency said there have been no effects on drinking water wells or the public, though the surface water of Mill Creek was affected.

The spokesperson of EPA Region 7, which includes Kansas, Kellan Ashford, said the cause of the leak was still uncertain on Thursday evening.

TC has mobilized nearly 100 people to respond to the oil spill, while the EPA has dispatched two coordinators, Ashford said.