Keystone Pipeline Shut Down, Loud ‘Bang’ Reported Before Disaster

The Keystone Pipeline was shut down Tuesday after a leak developed in North Dakota.

Bill Suess, manager of the spill investigation program at the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, said a pipeline worker heard a “mechanical bang” and reported a spill at 7:44 a.m., according to The New York Times.

It took about two minutes to shut down the pipeline, he said

The almost 2,700-mile-long pipeline that brings Canadian oil to the United States experienced the leak north of Fort Ransom, North Dakota, which is about 80 miles southwest of Fargo.

“As of right now, the spill is confined to an agricultural field south of the pump station,” Suess said.

South Bow, the company that manages the pipeline, said about 3,500 barrels of oil had leaked.

Suess told the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead there was no timeline yet for when the pipeline would resume operations.

“It all depends on what caused the incident and what is needed to repair it,” he said.

No people or structures were affected by the incident, Suess said.

BREAKING NEWS:

The Keystone Pipeline has RUPTURED.

Oil spill near Edinburgh, North Dakota after rupture of Keystone pipeline. pic.twitter.com/ScJbcKc98b

— Mila Joy (@MilaLovesJoe) April 9, 2025

Suess said a nearby stream was isolated from any possible oil flow as a precaution, according to Newsweek.

He said that even in only the two minutes it took to shut down the pipeline after the leak was detected, a “fairly good volume” of oil, leaked, adding,  “I don’t think it’s going to be that huge.”

Solomiya Lyaskovska, a representative of South Bow, said the company sent crews to the site of the malfunction, according to the Times.

She said the shutdown came “after control center leak detection systems detected a pressure drop in the system.”

“The affected segment has been isolated, and operations and containment resources have been mobilized to site,” she said.

“Our primary focus right now is the safety of on-site personnel and mitigating risk to the environment,” she said.

The pipeline carries about 626,000 barrels of oil per day, South Bow has said.

The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality said it was sending crews to the site of the leak to oversee the cleanup, according to a news release on its website.

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