ExxonMobil's incident plan is being tested after a pipeline spill in Arkansas threatens private property and natural resources.
A home is swamped by oil Image: USEPA |
More than 20 homes were evacuated after a spill from the 848-mile Pegasus pipeline leaked into a housing development near the town of Mayflower in the sourthern US.
The pipe, which was built in the 1940s and recently expanded, was carrying low-quality Wabasca Heavy crude oil from Alberta in Canada.
ExxonMobil responded very quickly to shut down the pipeline and carry out a major round-the-clock clean-up and environmental response after the spill was discovered on 31 March. Rescue measures include a boom, so far successfully deployed to avert any potential leak into nearby Lake Conway, a popular recreation and game-fishing spot.
A major investigation into the oil spill was launched, with Exxon giving its full cooperation.
Despite the company's efforts, the incident has added further potential ammunition to critics of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, who are keen to block plans to increase the volume of heavy crude that would be transported across Canada and the US by the new pipe.
The Arkansas incident also comes just a few days after a Canadian Pacific Railroad train carrying oil sands crude — a mixture of heavy bitumen and lighter dilutants — from Alberta to Chicago derailed in Minnesota, spilling about 30,000 gallons and another derailed just 200m from the White River in Ontario, losing some 63,000 litres of crude.