The Keystone oil pipeline ruptured Tuesday morning in North Dakota, with the spill confined to an agricultural field.
FORT RANSOM, N.D. -- The Keystone oil pipeline experienced a rupture on April 8, 2025, prompting an immediate shutdown after an employee reported hearing a "mechanical bang" at approximately 7:44 a.m. local time. The incident occurred near Fort Ransom, where oil was later observed surfacing about 300 yards south of the pump station.
According to Bill Suess, the spill investigation program manager with the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, the employee at the pump station acted quickly, shutting down the pipeline within about two minutes of hearing the noise. Emergency personnel promptly responded to the site, and the spill was reported to be contained within the agricultural field.
While the exact cause of the rupture remains unclear, Suess indicated that the control center's leak detection systems had detected a pressure drop prior to the incident. South Bow, the company managing the pipeline since 2024, has mobilized operations and containment resources to the site to mitigate any potential environmental risks.
"The affected segment has been isolated, and our primary focus right now is the safety of onsite personnel and mitigating risk to the environment," South Bow stated. Fortunately, no people or structures were affected by the spill. A nearby stream, which only flows seasonally, was not impacted but was isolated as a precaution.
Even a brief two-minute flow from the 30-inch pipeline could result in a significant volume of oil being released, although Suess noted, "I don't think it's going to be that huge," referencing a larger spill that occurred in Walsh County several years ago.
The Keystone Pipeline, constructed in 2011 at a cost of $5.2 billion, carries crude oil from Canada through North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri to refineries in Illinois and Oklahoma. It is a critical conduit for North American oil, transporting as much as 15% of Canada’s crude exports to the United States.
This incident comes in the wake of ongoing discussions about the Keystone XL expansion project, which was canceled in 2021 after facing significant opposition from environmental groups and legal challenges. In February 2025, former President Donald Trump expressed interest in reviving the Keystone XL project, urging its original developers to resume construction. However, a spokesperson for South Bow indicated that the company has "moved on" from the Keystone XL project and is focusing on developing options to increase Canadian oil supplies to meet growing demand.
The spill is under investigation, and further updates are expected as more information becomes available. This developing story highlights the ongoing complexities and controversies surrounding oil pipelines in North America, especially in light of environmental concerns and energy demands.
