Mystery breach sends 14,000 barrels of crude gushing over Kansas countryside
- Biggest rupture in Keystone pipeline history sent 14,000 barrels of oil gushing in Kansas
- Line has been shut down since late Wednesday and timeline for a restart is unclear
- Keystone carries 622,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada to US storage and refining hubs
- Operator TC Energy and investigators remain mum on what may have caused the breach
Emergency crews in Kansas are preparing to labor through the weekend to clean up the largest US crude oil spill in nearly a decade, after a mysterious rupture in the Keystone pipeline.
The pipeline that runs from Canada to Oklahoma lost about 14,000 barrels, or 588,000 gallons, in a spill larger than all prior breaches of the Keystone system combined, officials said Friday.
The spill sent oil gushing into a creek running through rural pastureland in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles northwest of Kansas City.
A heavy odor of oil hung in the air as tractor trailers ferried generators, lighting and ground mats to a muddy site for the cleanup operation.
Federal investigators were at the scene trying to help determine what caused a leak in the Keystone, which carries 622,000 barrels of oil per day from Western Canada to US refineries and export hubs.
