The federal regulators have ordered the Keystone gas operator to carry out various corrective actions after a rupture earlier this week, more than 556,000 liters of oil spilled in the Northern Dakota cultivation lands.
The pipe operator, South Bow, based in Calgary, said that his goal is to resume delivery to refineries in the coming days.
The Pipe and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) directed South Bow to send the Failed Section of the Pipe to a third -party laboratory for mechanical and metallurgical tests, the agency said in a statement on Friday.
The company must also carry out and send an analysis of the main cause of failure and on Tuesday review all the online inspection reports of the last ten years to identify anomalies that may be present in the failed pipe, adjacent boards or anywhere else in the system, added the agency.
« PHMSA has already assured the complete cooperation of the operator and the written commitment to take the necessary measures to repair the line and identify the cause of failure, » said Ben Kochman’s acting administrator in the statement. « Multiple Phmsa researchers are found on the ground in North Dakota and the installation of the operator control room in Calgary working to determine the cause of the accident. »
The order also requires an evaluation of the Pipeline Special Permission, which allows the line to work at higher than normal pressures, to determine if new or modified conditions are needed.
South Bow continues to investigate the cause of the spill along the Keystone gas, near Fort Ransom, ND, about 100 kilometers south -Fargo’s west. The underground gas pipeline released a dear of 3,500 barrels – or 556,455 liters of crude lands in the farmland.
The affected pipe segment cannot be restarted until the North -American Agency gives the operator permission. South Bow said on Saturday that it aims to restore service and energy deliveries on Tuesday as it plays the order.
South Bow also said that his response and his recovery efforts continued. The company said that their crews were preparing to repair and replace the affected section of the pipe. He also said that the crews were in the place with vacuum trucks and other cleaning equipment and that the work would continue during the weekend.
The company also said that it would restrict the pressures of operation in the Canadian sections of Keystone, as agreed with the Canadian energy regulators.
The pipeline extends to 4,327 kilometers from Alberta to refineries in Illinois, Oklahoma and Texas. The spill has aroused concerns about the impacts of a prolonged stop on energy prices, especially for gasoline and diesel.
« Our main goal remains in the security of staff at the site and the mitigation of the risk for the environment, » said South Bow. « We are committed to the community that surrounds Fort Ransom and we will continue cleaning activities until the place can be solved completely. »
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