Keystone pipeline shut after oil release into Kansas creek

WINNIPEG — Canada's TC Energy on Thursday said it shut the 622,000 barrel-per-day Keystone pipeline due to an oil spill into a Kansas creek.

The size of the leak, which occurred about 20 miles south of a key junction in Steele City, Nebraska, is currently unknown. Keystone is the primary artery shipping Canadian crude from Alberta to refiners in the U.S. Midwest and the Gulf Coast, and also sends barrels to the U.S. hub in Cushing, Oklahoma.

Keystone shut the line at about 8 p.m. CT on Wednesday after alarms went off and system pressure dropped, the company said in a release, saying booms were being used to contain the creek.

"The system remains shut down as our crews actively respond and work to contain and recover the oil," the release said.

Two Keystone shippers said TC had not yet notified them how long the pipeline may be shut down. TC did not comment further, referring reporters to its release.

U.S. Pipeline And Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) personnel have been deployed to the site to investigate the leak near Washington, Kansas, a town of about 1,000 people.

On Nov. 15, the company announced it would curtail volumes on the pipeline due to some severe weather-related incidents without specifying the size or duration of the curbs.