Oil sands pose no added spill risk: report
Disputes claim that bitumen more corrosive
Heavy crude oil to be carried by the proposed Keystone XL pipeline poses no greater risk of a spill than other types of oil, the National Research Council said in a report.
The report disputes arguments made by Keystone opponents that diluted bitumen, a tar-like substance mined in Alberta’s oil sands, is more corrosive than conventional crude oil and is more likely to create ruptures and oil spills in pipelines.
The review of spills “did not find any causes of pipeline failure unique to the transport of diluted bitumen,” according to a statement from the council, part of the National Academy of Sciences that advises the U.S. government on science policy.
“There’s nothing extraordinary about pipeline ship- ments of diluted bitumen to make them more likely than other crude oils to cause releases,” Mark Barteau, a chemical engineering professor at the University of Michigan, said in a statement accompanying the report released Tuesday. Mr. Barteau was the chairman of the committee that wrote the report.
In disputing the argument that diluted bitumen is more corrosive, the academy’s conclusion will boost Keystone advocates as the U.S. weighs whether to approve the line.
The State Department is reviewing TransCanada Corp.’s application to build the US$5.3billion link between Alberta and Steele City, Neb., where the pipeline would link to a project under construction to carry the oil to refineries in the U.S. Gulf Coast. A decision is possible later this year.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration, a part of the U.S. Transportation Department, requested the council’s report. Congress directed the department to study transporting diluted bitumen in a 2012 pipeline safety law.
“Dilbit” has been transported in the U.S. for 30 years, ac- cording to the report. The U.S. has about 88,500 kilometres of oil transmission lines. Pipeline spills ranged from 80 to 120 a year from 2002 to 2011, according to the study. Any spill releasing five gallons or more is reported.
The Keystone proposal, along with spills such as Enbridge Inc.’s Michigan rupture in July 2010 and a more recent incident on an Exxon Mobil Corp. line in Mayflower, Ark., have led environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council to oppose shipping bitumen by pipeline because they say doing so carries greater risk.
A February 2011 report by the New York City-based NRDC said spills were more likely because bitumen is acidic and moves through pipelines at higher temperatures than other oils, increasing the risk of corrosion. The National Academy of Sciences report contradicts the NRDC’s research.
The bitumen is diluted with lighter oils to lower its viscosity in the pipeline.
The alleged corrosive properties of bitumen is one argument made by opponents of Keystone. Environmental groups including the Sierra Club also argue the pipeline will encourage development of the oil sands.
Oil sands release 8% to 37% more greenhouse gases during production and use than conventional oil, according to the Pembina Institute, a Calgarybased non-profit research and advocacy group.
Oil sands production is forecast to more than double to 5.2 million barrels a day by 2030 from 1.8 million currently, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers said in its annual forecast June 5.
Canada is increasingly reliant on revenue from oil. Energy products were the nation’s fastest-growing export over the past 20 years, increasing to 23% of all shipments, from 9% in 1993, according to Statistics Canada.
The State Department’s draft environmental analysis said Keystone won’t increase climate-change risks because the oil sands will be developed even without the project. The Environmental Protection Agency criticized the draft analysis, and asked the state Department to conduct a fuller review.