After a sudden rupture in North Dakota halted the flow of hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil daily, the Keystone Pipeline shutdown threatens to send gas prices soaring across America.
Watch the video below.
The pipeline failure comes at a time when Americans are already struggling with high fuel costs.
This latest energy crisis highlights the critical importance of American energy independence and the consequences of the Biden administration’s hostility toward fossil fuels.
Workers at a pump station near Fort Ransom, North Dakota, heard what was described as a “mechanical bang.”
An alert employee immediately initiated emergency shutdown procedures as management company South Bow detected a pressure drop in the system.
The swift response limited the spill to approximately 3,500 barrels of crude oil, which was contained to an agricultural field.
The Keystone Pipeline spans nearly 2,700 miles from Alberta, Canada, to refineries in Texas.
It is a critical artery in North America’s energy infrastructure that transports 624,000 barrels of crude oil every day.
Its shutdown threatens to disrupt fuel supplies across the Midwest, potentially leading to higher gasoline prices for already strained American consumers.
Industry experts warn that diesel and jet fuel prices could be particularly impacted if the pipeline remains offline for an extended period.
Bill Suess, spill investigation program manager with the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality, confirmed that the rupture occurred at milepost 171.
The North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality is now overseeing remediation efforts.
While no people, structures, or waterways were affected by the spill, this incident marks yet another disruption to America’s vital energy infrastructure.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has launched an investigation into the cause of the rupture.
This latest shutdown is part of a troubling pattern for the Keystone system, which has experienced at least three significant spills since 2017.
The most recent major incident occurred in December 2022 in Kansas. It resulted in a three-week shutdown that was later attributed to a faulty weld.
American energy consumers will feel the pinch if repairs take longer than anticipated.
Refineries typically maintain only a few days’ supply of crude oil, meaning a prolonged shutdown could threaten fuel availability across multiple states.
The timing could not be worse, with summer travel season approaching and the economy already under pressure from persistent inflation.
The Biden administration’s 2021 decision to cancel the proposed Keystone XL extension now looms large over this crisis.
That extension would have provided additional capacity and redundancy in the national energy network, potentially lessening the impact of disruptions like the current shutdown.
As crews work to contain the spill and repair the pipeline, questions remain about how long the shutdown will last and how severely it will impact American consumers.
