Corrosion Left Keystone Pipeline ‘Less than Half the Thickness of a Dime,’ Says U.S. Government Accountability Office 

Total oil spills from the Keystone Pipeline have grown to 25,975 bbl since TC Energy Corp. opened the conduit in 2010 to transport Canadian crude south to the Midwest and Gulf of Mexico.

The estimated 14,000 bbl leak began on Dec. 7 into a Kansas creek and farm, halting flows for a week and leaving TC unable to state the cause as of yet. The leak has more than doubled to an 11,975 bbl spill count as of mid-2021 by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).

The count, in a report titled Pipeline Safety: Information on Keystone Accidents and Department of Transportation Oversight, followed a 17-month performance audit. The GAO examined Keystone as the only U.S. oil line allowed to exceed standard industry operating pressure in its pipe.

The cause of the Kansas spill...