Keystone Pipeline

[Kivalo]

http://auburnpub.com/news/national/keystone-pipeline-leak-dumps-gallons-of-oil-in-south-dakota/article_d95f4e34-8f1d-5910-966a-184202061391.html#tracking-source=home-breaking

BREAKING

Keystone pipeline leak dumps 210,000 gallons of oil in South Dakota

• Associated Press
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  • 1 hr ago
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The Keystone Steele City pumping station is seen in Steele City, Neb., on Nov. 3, 2015. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)

Nati Harnik

 

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AMHERST, S.D. (AP) — TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone pipeline leaked an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil in northeastern South Dakota, the company and state regulators reported Thursday.

Crews shut down the pipeline Thursday morning and activated emergency response procedures after a drop in pressure was detected resulting from the leak south of a pump station in Marshall County, TransCanada said in a statement. The cause was being investigated.

Officials don't believe the leak affected any surface water bodies or threatened any drinking water systems, said Brian Walsh, an environmental scientist manager at the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which has dispatched a staff member to the site.

 

"Ultimately, the cleanup responsibility lies with TransCanada, and they'll have to clean it up in compliance with our state regulations," Walsh said.

The pipeline transports crude from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Illinois and Oklahoma, passing through the eastern Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. It can handle nearly 600,000 barrels, or about 23 million gallons, daily. TransCanada says on its website that the company has safely transported more than 1.5 billion barrels of oil, or about 63 billion gallons, through the system since operations began in 2010.

TransCanada said in its statement that it expected the pipeline to remain shut down as the company responds to the leak. It did not offer a time estimate.

The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration didn't immediately return an email requesting additional information from The Associated Press.

A leak and spill in southeastern South Dakota in April 2016 prompted a weeklong shutdown of the pipeline. TransCanada estimated that just under 17,000 gallons of oil spilled onto private land during that leak. Federal regulators said an "anomaly" on a weld on the pipeline was to blame. No waterways or aquifers were affected.

 

TransCanada said at the time that the leak was the first detected on the pipeline since it began operating, though there had been leaks at pumping stations. One of those leaks happened in southeastern North Dakota in May 2011, when 14,000 gallons spilled after a valve failed at a pumping station near the South Dakota border.

The Keystone Pipeline is part of a 2,687-mile system that also is to include the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which has faced persistent opposition from environmental groups, American Indian tribes and some landowners.

President Donald Trump issued a federal permit for the project in March even though it had been rejected by the Obama administration. The project has received needed approvals in states between Alberta, Canada, and Nebraska. Nebraska regulators plan to announce their decision next week.

[ActionfigureJoe]

#winning 

[Zambroski]

Chug and female armpit hair sabotage. 

[Anler]

Sick the dogs on the Indians, quick!!!

[Zambroski]

Just now, Arctic Cat Destroyer said:

Sick the dogs on the Indians, quick!!!

Meh...just airdrop booze.  Fucking pickle heads.

[AKIQPilot]

Wow. This is not good. Any amount of oil on the ground is bad but 210000 gallons is a huge spill. That amount of oul will cover a couple of acres easily. Much more if water is involved. 

TC is gonna have to cough up inspection, maintenance and emergency response documents on this one. They better hope that have their shit in a row. 

Hope the cleanup goes well and the impact is minimal. 

[Sal Rosenberg]

 

"OIL SHORTAGE DUE TO MASSIVE PIPELINE LEAK , FUEL PRICES TO SPIKE " !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!4444444444

[ArcticCrusher]

Damn nooks.

[BOHICA]

Obama era pipeline so it is expected to fail.

[Zambroski]

7 minutes ago, BOHICA said:

Obama era pipeline so it is expected to fail.

“Thanks Obama!!!”

Ahh...it just never gets old (to me...AND IM ALL THAT MATTERS!!!!!!!)

 

[racer254]

 

3 hours ago, Zambroski said:

Chug and female armpit hair sabotage. 

This shit is getting to be like the rape accusations, shootings etc....

Coincidence????  or planned?

Edited November 17, 2017 by racer254

[revkevsdi]

https://www.citylab.com/environment/2016/11/30-years-of-pipeline-accidents-mapped/509066/

 

Dumb fuckers.

 

[sledderj]

4 hours ago, AKIQPilot said:

Wow. This is not good. Any amount of oil on the ground is bad but 210000 gallons is a huge spill. That amount of oul will cover a couple of acres easily. Much more if water is involved. 

TC is gonna have to cough up inspection, maintenance and emergency response documents on this one. They better hope that have their shit in a row. 

Hope the cleanup goes well and the impact is minimal. 

 

Doesn't look like much was going on at that spot for an external factor to cause a rupture. 

[AKIQPilot]

47 minutes ago, sledderj said:

 

Doesn't look like much was going on at that spot for an external factor to cause a rupture. 

 

No definitely not external factors. This is an integrity management issue. That is a major rupture. Either the pipeline exceeded MAOP or there was a structural failure in a weld.

Excursions above MAOP are rare. Bad welds are not as rare as they should be. . 

[Zambroski]

6 hours ago, revkevsdi said:

https://www.citylab.com/environment/2016/11/30-years-of-pipeline-accidents-mapped/509066/

 

Dumb fuckers.

 

Do you paddle your canoe to daddy’s shop every morning?  Wear your lap belt.

[JEFF]

26 minutes ago, Zambroski said:

Do you paddle your canoe to daddy’s shop every morning?  Wear your lap belt.

And a plastic bag over his head to keep the water out...

[Jimmy Snacks]

5 hours ago, AKIQPilot said:

 

No definitely not external factors. This is an integrity management issue. That is a major rupture. Either the pipeline exceeded MAOP or there was a structural failure in a weld.

Excursions above MAOP are rare. Bad welds are not as rare as they should be. . 

Maybe a dumb question but when these pipelines are being built are those welds difficult or complex?

[Zambroski]

22 minutes ago, JEFF said:

And a plastic bag over his head to keep the water out...

...and keep the chronic sadness and despair in.

Oh...but to dream.

[Dave]

22 minutes ago, Jimmy Snacks said:

Maybe a dumb question but when these pipelines are being built are those welds difficult or complex?

Not if you know how to weld right.

[NaturallyAspirated]

So one year ago folks were out protesting pipeline construction, and this year we have a major spill.  Hemm...

Neal

[racer254]

23 minutes ago, NaturallyAspirated said:

So one year ago folks were out protesting pipeline construction, and this year we have a major spill.  Hemm...

Neal

Exactly and the background checks for some mass shooters seem to just NOT HAPPEN....HMMMM

 

[AKIQPilot]

4 hours ago, Jimmy Snacks said:

Maybe a dumb question but when these pipelines are being built are those welds difficult or complex?

 No they aren't really all that difficult or complex.  Within 90 days of welding on a pipeline the Pipeline welders must qualify to the exact same procedure that will be used during construction. His qualification welds will be inspected and tested by a certified welding inspector. 

During construction a cwi is on location for every weld. The cwi signs off on every step of the procedure. The cwi or QUality Assurance tech will approve fit up, gap, high/low and magnativity for every welded joint. The QA will inspect and approve the root pass after its completed. He will then inspect and approve the filler passes when they are complete.  The QA will then inspect and approve the cap passes when they are complete. 

After the weld is complete it is then subject to non destructive evaluation testing like Xray or ultrasonic testing. Federal code only requires 10% of the welds to be NDE tested as long as a QA/CWI was on location and signed off on every weld.  If the QA/CWI Does not approve every weld then every weld must be NDE tested. 

For a 24" diameter pipeline each weld location takes about 30- 36 man hours to complete.  The thicker the pipe wall the longer it takes to complete the weld. Typically 2 welders will work every joint. They will be opposite of each other welding away.  In a 12 hour shift they get about 8hrs of actually burning rod.

A lot of pipeline builders use a procedure that allows automated wire feed welders for the fill and cap passes. The welder is in control of and watches the AutoMIG tool 100% of the time.  AutoMIG welders do a great job and make beautiful welds. 

Pipeline failures at welded connections are ofter caused by improperly applied heat and cooling procedures. The weld cracks in the heat affected zone just a few mm from the edge of the weld. The weld usually cracks before the pipeline cools back down to ambient tempature.  An xray during construction would detect this crack every time. A QA/CWI can not see the crack with their naked eye.  For this reason some pipeline builders perform 100% xray on every weld even though federal code is only 10%. 

How bout that long answer. 

[hayward]

13 minutes ago, AKIQPilot said:

 No they aren't really all that difficult or complex.  Within 90 days of welding on a pipeline the Pipeline welders must qualify to the exact same procedure that will be used during construction. His qualification welds will be inspected and tested by a certified welding inspector. 

During construction a cwi is on location for every weld. The cwi signs off on every step of the procedure. The cwi or QUality Assurance tech will approve fit up, gap, high/low and magnativity for every welded joint. The QA will inspect and approve the root pass after its completed. He will then inspect and approve the filler passes when they are complete.  The QA will then inspect and approve the cap passes when they are complete. 

After the weld is complete it is then subject to non destructive evaluation testing like Xray or ultrasonic testing. Federal code only requires 10% of the welds to be NDE tested as long as a QA/CWI was on location and signed off on every weld.  If the QA/CWI Does not approve every weld then every weld must be NDE tested. 

For a 24" diameter pipeline each weld location takes about 30- 36 man hours to complete.  The thicker the pipe wall the longer it takes to complete the weld. Typically 2 welders will work every joint. They will be opposite of each other welding away.  In a 12 hour shift they get about 8hrs of actually burning rod.

A lot of pipeline builders use a procedure that allows automated wire feed welders for the fill and cap passes. The welder is in control of and watches the AutoMIG tool 100% of the time.  AutoMIG welders do a great job and make beautiful welds. 

Pipeline failures at welded connections are ofter caused by improperly applied heat and cooling procedures. The weld cracks in the heat affected zone just a few mm from the edge of the weld. The weld usually cracks before the pipeline cools back down to ambient tempature.  An xray during construction would detect this crack every time. A QA/CWI can not see the crack with their naked eye.  For this reason some pipeline builders perform 100% xray on every weld even though federal code is only 10%. 

How bout that long answer. 

That's a hell of a good answer.  Now, I need to fix a leak on the outer shell of my outdoor wood stove.   Any way you  can hook a brother up with one of these x-ray machines to make sure the bitch won't leak after I get done rat-shitting around on it? 

Isn't there any kind of monitoring system this day in age that would have detected a leak like this quick enough that the whole deal would have shut down immediately before losing so much material?  Or is there that much flow that it did shut down instantly and this is just how much spills when an event like this happens?

[Jimmy Snacks]

Thanks Tom....I found you answer to be a tad bit more informative than Stinky's.

5 hours ago, BEANPOLE DAVE said:

Not if you know how to weld right.

 

[AKIQPilot]

1 hour ago, hayward said:

That's a hell of a good answer.  Now, I need to fix a leak on the outer shell of my outdoor wood stove.   Any way you  can hook a brother up with one of these x-ray machines to make sure the bitch won't leak after I get done rat-shitting around on it? 

Isn't there any kind of monitoring system this day in age that would have detected a leak like this quick enough that the whole deal would have shut down immediately before losing so much material?  Or is there that much flow that it did shut down instantly and this is just how much spills when an event like this happens?

Yes, this pipeline was equipped with a Leak Detection System.  Federal code requires routine inspection and testing of the leak detection system.  The LDS must be monitored by a qualified technician every second of the day and every day of the year.  The LDS must be able to detect a leak of 1% of throughput within 5 minutes of the leak occurring.  THe tech monitoring the LDS must respond to the leak alarm immediately and implement the procedures set forth in the Leak Detection Monitoring protocol.  This is all very closely regulated by the federal government department called PHMSA. 

I don't know the throughput of this section of pipeline but lets say it's 100,000 BPD.  The LDS would have to detect a leak of 1000 BPD.  According to the article the spill is 5000 bbls.  That means the leak was either very large or it leaked for several days.  My guess is a very large leak that was recognized immediately.  If that's the case we then need to look at what the pressure was on the pipeline at the time of the leak.  The pipeline has over pressure protection systems that shut in flow well before the pressure gets to a dangerous level.  All the maintenance records for all this equipment will be subpoenaed by the Feds as part of their investigation.