The US report finds multiple problems with the Keystone pipeline

WASHINGTON, Aug. 23 (Reuters) – A U.S. government surveillance dog has encountered multiple problems with the construction, manufacture and design of the Keystone Pipeline, validating President Joe Biden’s decision to revoke the permit for an extension of Keystone XL, according to leaders of several Democratic House committees. Monday.

Lawmakers requested the report from the Government Accountability Office in November 2019 after more than 11,000 barrels of oil were leaked from the pipeline system in two launches in less than two years.

“GAO found that preventable construction problems contributed to the current spills of the Keystone Pipeline more frequently than industry-wide trends,” they said in a statement.

Keystone’s four major spills were “caused by problems related to the original design, pipe fabrication, or pipe construction,” the GAO report said.

Biden canceled the Keystone XL permit on his first day in office on Jan. 20, causing a death blow to a project that reportedly transported 830,000 barrels of heavy oil daily from Alberta to Nebraska. L1N2JX1D8

“TC Energy’s record among its peers is one of the worst in terms of volume of oil spilled per mile transported,” a statement from lawmakers said. Among the lawmakers was Representative Frank Pallone, chairman of the energy and trade committee.

TC Energy Corp (TRP.TO) officially canceled the $ 9 billion Keystone XL in June. In July, he filed a notice of intent to initiate a claim inherited from the U.S. Free Trade Agreement and is seeking more than $ 15 billion in damages from the U.S. government.

The company said in response to the report that it has had “zero high-impact incidents in 18 months,” after taking steps to strengthen security and prevent incidents.

Opponents of the pipelines want to curb the movement of Canadian oil into the United States. But supporters of the pipelines say it will be shipped anyway and that oil sent by rail has caused numerous fire accidents.

Biden “was clearly right to question this operator’s ability to build a safe and resilient pipeline, and we support his decision to place the health and environment of Americans above the interests of the industry,” the US representatives.

Report by Doina Chiacu and Timothy Gardner; Edited by Barbara Lewis, Dan Grebler and David Gregorio

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