This image provided by South Bow shows a spill from the Keystone oil pipeline that occurred Tuesday, April 8, 2025 near Fort Ransom, N.D. (South Bow via AP)
FORT RANSOM, N.D. (KFGO) – The company that manages the Keystone Pipeline has estimated that 3,500 barrels of crude oil leaked from a pipeline near Fort Ransom in southeastern North Dakota. That’s about 147,000 gallons.
The State Division of Environmental Quality says the pipeline was shut down almost immediately Tuesday morning. The oil was contained to a farm field. A small stream near the site has been isolated and is not affected.
The spill is contained to an agricultural field. In an update Wednesday, South Bow said it has multiple on-site vacuum trucks beginning to recover the oil. Continuous air quality monitoring is underway. The pipeline’s affected segment is isolated, and the company said it’s evaluating plans for a return to service.
Myron Hammer, an adjacent landowner who farms the land affected by the spill, said it hasn’t yet adversely affected him, aside from the smell of crude oil or sulfur carrying when the wind blows in a certain direction. The pipeline company appears to be doing its due diligence to fix the problem, he said.
There’s been a lot of truck traffic bringing equipment to the scene, he said. His house is about 1.75 miles away.
“It’s become a beehive of activity in the proximity there,” Hammer said. Some of his property is being used as a staging area for equipment.
Last year, the line moved 26 million gallons of oil per day from Alberta, Canada to Texas. The pipeline covers nearly 2,700 miles.
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