Exxon Pipeline Oil Spill Cleanup Efforts Widening
July 04 2011 - 9:42AM
Dow Jones News
An additional 80 people were heading to the Exxon Mobil Corp.
(XOM) pipeline spill site Monday as the effort to clean the oil
spilled from its Silvertip pipeline widened, Exxon said.
With the addition, about 200 people are working to repair the
damage from the estimated 1,000 barrels of oil the pipeline spilled
into the Yellowstone River late Friday. Exxon said most of the oil
fell along the shoreline within about 10 miles of the spill site,
but has reconnaissance planes flying about 144 miles downstream to
check for damage.
The leak from the 12-inch pipeline, originally reported
Saturday, caused the temporary evacuation of some area residents.
Local officials have said that flooding has hampered the cleanup
work, and that some of the leaked oil could reach the Missouri
River, of which the Yellowstone is a tributary.
The cause of the leak is still under investigation, Exxon
said.
The incident comes on heightened concerns about pipeline safety
stemming from natural-gas pipeline explosions across the U.S., and
from a major spill in July 2010, in which 20,000 barrels of oil
escaped from an Enbridge Energy Partners LP (EEP) pipeline in
Michigan. The cause of the spill remains a mystery.
Exxon said its pipeline met "all regulatory requirements" and
was inspected in December. The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration audited the pipeline's integrity
management program in June, Exxon added.
PHMSA has sent agents to help with the investigation but has so
far not issued information.
The Silvertip pipeline runs from Silver Tip, Mont., to Billings,
and usually moves about 40,000 barrels of crude oil a day.
-By Ben Lefebvre, Dow Jones Newswires; 713-547-9201;
ben.lefebvre@dowjones.com; and Angel Gonzalez, Dow Jones Newswires;
713-547-9214; angel.gonzalez@dowjones.com
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