Keystone pipeline leak repaired

BISMARCK, N.D. — TransCanada Corp. said Saturday that it completed repairs to its Keystone Pipeline, a week after the pipeline oozed thousands of gallons of Canadian crude into a South Dakota field.

James Millar, a spokesman for the Calgary-based company, said the pipeline was expected to be restarted Saturday.

“We don’t know yet” what caused the breech, said Millar, who described the pipeline failure as a “small leak.” “We are still working to determine what caused it.”

TransCanada has estimated 16,800 gallons, or about 400 barrels of oil, leaked. The company said there was no significant environmental impact or threat to public safety.

Millar said it was the first such breech of the 36-inch steel pipeline since it began operating in June 2010. It has since transported about 1.3 billion barrels of crude from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Illinois and Cushing, passing through the eastern Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri.

The Keystone pipeline can handle 550,000 barrels, or about 23 million gallons, daily. It’s part of a pipeline system that also would have included the Keystone XL pipeline had President Barack Obama not rejected that project in November.

TransCanada said Friday that it has received conditional approval from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration to restart the pipeline after identifying the source of the leak.

About 100 workers have been working at the site since April 2, where crews excavated soil to expose more than 275 feet of pipe to find the leak.