TC Energy Recovers Around 14K Barrels from Incident Site

TC Energy has revealed that, as of December 18, an estimated 13,877 barrels of oil and water have been recovered as part of its response and oil recovery effort at its Keystone Pipeline System Milepost 14 Incident site in Washington County, Kansas.

Although the company’s recovery rates have been building over the past few days, TC Energy warned these have the potential to slow by the upcoming cold weather in the area.

As of December 16, the company had recovered 10,351 barrels of oil and water from the incident site, as of December 15, it had recovered 7,397 barrels of oil and water, as of December 14, it had recovered 5,567 barrels of oil and water, and, as of December 12, it had recovered 2,598 barrels of oil and water, TC Energy’s website shows.

On December 7, TC Energy responded to a release of oil from its Keystone Pipeline System into a creek in Washington County, according to a statement posted on its website, which noted that the affected segment had been isolated.

“We continue to gather information as part of the investigation,” TC Energy stated in a frequently asked questions segment on its site focusing on the incident’s cause.

“What we know is that the line was operating at reduced pressure at the time of the incident. We have ruled out a third-party strike as the cause,” the company added.

“With the area around the impacted segment of pipeline section now excavated, we will be able to learn more about the next steps for repair and investigation. Once we remove the pipe section, it will be transported to a metallurgical laboratory for testing by an independent third party. Ultimately, PHMSA will share the final analysis of the root cause or causes,” TC Energy continued.

“We won’t have specifics about the cause of the incident until we complete the investigation, and the segment of the pipeline is thoroughly analyzed by the NTSB metallurgical lab. Any findings shared until then would be speculation,” TC Energy went on to state.

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