A federal regulator has approved a plan to restart a section of the closed 622,000 b/d Keystone crude pipeline, a major step in reconnecting Canadian volumes to Cushing, Oklahoma.
Timing of the restart was not disclosed by operator TC Energy or the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), but it could be imminent. The approval comes just over two weeks after the pipeline spilled 14,000 bl in northern Kansas on 7 December.
TC Energy submitted the restart plan earlier this week for the segment currently shut, a 96-mile stretch south of Steele City, Nebraska, delivering crude to Cushing, which is estimated to handle at least 156,000 b/d.
The line extending from Steele City to Illinois was brought back online on 14 December at a reduced pressure.
PHMSA said in its 8 December corrective order that when the line does restart, the affected portion of Keystone must not exceed 80pc of the pressure it was operating at "immediately prior" to the failure.
A restart must be done in daylight, have adequate patrolling of the affected segment, and have incremental pressure increases, among other requirements ordered by PHMSA.
Past incidents on the line still suggest it could be several months before it returns to its full capacity.
The line was undergoing a test at the time of the spill where its flows were as much as 16pc higher than its typical rate. An in-line inspection tool had passed through the site of the rupture shortly before it occurred and was downstream by only about 100 miles.
The affected pipe was sent to a lab for metallurgical testing, and those results may not be known until mid-January.
Over 550 personnel are on site near Washington, Kansas, as cleanup efforts continue along with the investigation into what caused the breach. A total of 7,599 bl of oil has been recovered as of 20 December, according to TC Energy, but the company warned efforts may slow because of cold weather. The US Environmental Protection Agency told Argus last week that the investigation is independent of the cleanup.
