Exxon pipeline breaks spilling 84,000 gallons of Canadian crude oil near Arkansas lake [VIDEOS]
(Reuters) - Exxon Mobil on Sunday continued cleanup of a pipeline spill that loosed thousands of barrels of heavy Canadian crude in Arkansas as opponents of oil sands development latched on to the incident to attack plans to build the Keystone XL line.
Exxon's Pegasus pipeline, which can carry more than 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude from Pakota, Illinois to Nederland, Texas, was shut after the leak was discovered late Friday afternoon in a subdivision near the town of Mayflower. The leak forced the evacuation of 22 homes.
The company did not have an estimate for the restarting of the pipeline, which was carrying Canadian Wabasca Heavy crude at the time of the leak. An oil spill of more than 1,000 barrels into a Wisconsin field from an Enbridge pipeline last summer kept that line shuttered for around 11 days.
The Arkansas spill drew fast reaction from opponents of the 800,000 bpd Keystone XL pipeline, which would carry heavy crude from Canada's tar sands to the U.S. Gulf Coast refining center.
Environmentalists have expressed concerns about the impact of developing the oil sands and say the crude is more corrosive to pipelines than conventional oil. On Wednesday, a train carrying Canadian crude derailed in Minnesota, spilling 15,000 gallons of oil.
"Whether it's the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, or ... (the) mess in Arkansas, Americans are realizing that transporting large amounts of this corrosive and polluting fuel is a bad deal for American taxpayers and for our environment," said Representative Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat.
Supporters of Keystone XL and oil sands development say the vast Canadian reserves can help drive down fuel costs in the United States. A report from the Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, put together by oil and gas consultancy Penspen, argued diluted bitumen is no more corrosive than other heavy crude.
CLEANUP
Exxon said that by 3 a.m. Saturday there was no additional oil spilling from the pipeline and that trucks had been brought in to assist with the cleanup. Images from local media showed crude oil snaking along a suburban street.
Officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration were deployed to the scene.
"Cleanup efforts are progressing 24 hours a day," said Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers, who added the oil had not leaked into nearby Lake Conway.
"We were very fortunate that the local responders made sure the oil did not enter the water."
Source
VIDEO
And you wonder why indigenous people in Canada are trying so hard to stop the Keystone???
Why are we not demanding "green" energy development from our govenments? Instead they are silencing our enviromental programs and forcing the continued use of dirty energy. This is a do or die situation we are in, our future depends on each of us to make a clear stand and do everything we can to stop the tar sands and other developments of it's kind. These leaks are the tip of the iceberg if we do nothing to stop our curent course. RISE UP, WE ARE THE CHANGE!
Why are we not demanding "green" energy development from our govenments? Instead they are silencing our enviromental programs and forcing the continued use of dirty energy. This is a do or die situation we are in, our future depends on each of us to make a clear stand and do everything we can to stop the tar sands and other developments of it's kind. These leaks are the tip of the iceberg if we do nothing to stop our curent course. RISE UP, WE ARE THE CHANGE!
Karrie get out of your gas driven car to go to the store to buy food driven by trucks to feed your family.. They just need to be smarter from these accidents and learn from them and use better materials to hold up against the oil and use preventive maintenance... you probably drive a Hummer
Our tax dollars need not go to oil companies but should be given for development of alternative energy. Look at the mess Oil companies left in Peru! Republicans are all for deregulation here in U.S.
I am from Alberta Canada and I am here to tell you that this is definitely an orchastrated ploy from some right wing environmental protest group to stop the keystone pipline program from going through. The Indiginous people here do want the program shut down but not for environmental reasons like everybody thinks, but for financial reasons; they want a larger cut of the royalties if the pipline crosses thier land. All of you folks that think that there is such a thing as "green energy" are delusional. To manufacture parts for any green technology you need raw materials that has to be mined this takes large machinery that runs on Diesle fuel. In order to Extract these raw materials you have to dig huge holes in the earths crust. You will then need to refine these raw materials which means you have to burn them using a fuel. This process also requires electrical energy which comes from burning coal. You will also require large factories which takes up a lot of land. you will also require heat for these factories which comes from burning oil. So please tell me how you are going to accomplish this change in a "green" manor.
Right O Buddyblogdog, right you are.
BuddyBlogDog, you are exactly correct. I am an environmentalist that works in the oil and gas industry I agree with you 100%. In order to go "green" you need to continue to use more and more oil. How are all those electric cars going to move with no tires, how are all those electric cars going to have the so called "green" materials needed to build the car. I could go on and on but you hit the nail right on the head. As to the KSPL coming through the U.S most people support this as well.
If you're too stupid to understand that the alternate green energy would also run the refining equipment don't make comments to expose your ignorance.
The only truly green energy is conserved energy. Want less, consume less, that's the answer.
Just for the record it is not "TAR" sands it is "OIL" sands! Tar is the final product that is left over after oil is refined and it is used to keep water out of our houses, Ever heard of asfault shingles? The Alberta Oil Sands projects are the most environmentaly sound and safe petrolium projects on the planet and make up only 2% of the worlds petrolium production. These projects are also responsible for driving not only Alberta's economy but the country of Canada's economy as a whole and if they were shut down Canada's economy would be too! The life and way that Canadian's live right now would cease to exist without this industry! Each Canadian under the age of 50 would be homeless and living on the streets within two years of these projects shutting down. I don't know who these misinformed retards are or why they scrutinize the absolute smallest secter of the petrolium industry in the world but they can all take a long walk off a short pier. There are other industries that are by far more dangerous and consequential to this planet and it's biological population than the oil sands; but try and explain that to some fool that sure as hell don't know there own ass from a hole in the ground!!