Gas prices are dropping in Minnesota, but that could change if Keystone Pipeline isn't running soon after spill
You could feel pain at the pump if a pipeline just west of Minnesota doesn't get up and running again soon.
A section of the Keystone Pipeline ruptured Tuesday morning in North Dakota.
The pipeline, which runs from Canada down to Oklahoma, sprang a leak, spilling about 3,500 barrels of crude oil into a farm field.
The cause is still being investigated, but a staff member reported hearing a "mechanical bang" before the leak started.
More than 200 people across several agencies are cleaning it up, with about 20% of that oil recovered as of Thursday.
In the meantime, the system is shut down.
The lead petroleum analyst for GasBuddy said refineries prepare for these kinds of disruptions.
"Just kind of like businesses have inventory they hold on hand, refineries also have crude oil they keep on hand as well. Since they're running 24/7, typically that supply may last several days, it may last longer," Patrick De Haan said.
Right now, gas prices are dropping.
AAA reports a gallon is averaging $3.16 on Thursday in Minnesota, down from $3.22 a week ago.
In Wisconsin, AAA reports that a gallon of gas costs an average of $3.08, down from $3.20 last week. The national average is $3.22, down from $3.26 last week.
The Keystone Pipeline went online in 2011. It runs through North Carolina, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. The crude oil it carries goes to refineries in Illinois and Oklahoma. A proposed extension that would have brought crude oil to the Gulf Coast was shut down in 2021 after years of protests.
The pipeline has had at least three significant spills since 2017. The largest spill was in 2022, when an estimated 14,000 barrels of crude oil spilled into a creek in Kansas.
