Enbridge pumping station experiences oil spill

Enbridge temporarily shut down its Rowatt pumping station, located south of Regina, Canada, following an oil spill. It is estimated that around 125 barrels of oil leaked at the pumping station, resulting in the ceasing of operations as crews performed the clean-up of the site. 

The pumping station released the oil on Saturday (January 18th) morning, prompting a fast response from the company. The majority of the spill was contained to Enbridge's property, according to Graham White, spokesperson for Enbridge, however; some of the oil was found to have landed on a farm field next to the facility as a result of high winds.

Enbridge notified provincial officials and emergency response crews as soon as the spill was identified. Currently there has been no known impact to wildlife, the public or local waterways as a result of the spill, according to a company statement that was released shortly after the incident occurred.

While it is thought that only 125 barrels of oil was spilled, Enbridge has said that this amount could be revised as clean-up operations continue. There have not yet been any updates on the final amount of oil that is thought to have been leaked, although it could be that the spill estimation is revised downwards rather than up.

The incident resulted in the shutdown of the Rowatt pumping station, with the company creating a bypass of its section of Line 67. This bypass allowed oil to continue throughout the rest of the line. The pipeline that has been shut down usually produces around 449,000 barrels of oil every day.

The pipeline has now been reopened by Enbridge as clean-up operations continue, although the clean-up is expected to be concluded soon. An investigation is also underway to find what caused the spill, although it is not known how long the investigation will take.

According to an on-site Enbridge spokesperson, Les Scott, the company is currently focused on ensuring that all of the oil is successfully cleaned up and as such does not currently have an estimate on any financial impact, reports the Leader-Post.