List of pipeline accidents


The following is a worldwide list of pipeline accidents.

Belgium

  • 2004: A major natural gas pipeline exploded in Ghislenghien, Belgium near Ath, killing 24 people and leaving 122 wounded, some critically on July 30, 2004.

    Canada

  • A TransCanada pipeline ruptured and exploded in North Bay, Ontario, in the early 1960s and again in 1978.
  • 1958: The Slater Street explosion: A massive explosion rocked the Centertown core of Ottawa at 8:17 am on Saturday, October 25, 1958. As an Ottawa Citizen reporter later described, the scene looked “just like a bombed area in wartime London.” The explosion occurred at the Addressograph Multigraph building at 248 Slater Street when natural gas seeped into an unused manufactured gas pipe system and into the building. A chemical reaction occurred. When a janitor turned on a light switch, the gas in the air exploded. Debris caused major traffic problems and 40 people were injured from flying glass fragments. 60 off-duty police and RCMP officers were called in to help police evacuate the area. William J. Anderson, the janitor at the Addressograph Multigraph building, died several days later from injuries sustained in the blast. Prime Minister John Diefenbaker came to the site to view the destruction. Over 25 businesses were closed indefinitely. Prince Philip arrived in Ottawa on October 31 to view the explosion site and question officials. Overall, the entire incident cost the government two million dollars in damages.
  • 1962: An explosion on a gas pipeline occurred on a lateral line on January 17, about northwest of Edson, Alberta. 8 people were killed.
  • 1965: An explosion from a gas line destroyed several apartments in the LaSalle Heights Disaster in LaSalle, Quebec killing 28 people, the worst pipeline disaster in Canadian history.
  • 1965: On October 12, an explosion and fire involved the Albert Gas Trunk Line LTD., near Sundre, Alberta, killing 2 pipeline workers.
  • 1969: On October 25, a faulty pipe exploded in a gas line beneath Malton, Ontario. One person died, about 20 were injured, 9 stores and several homes were destroyed. Gas in a dead end section of gas pipeline.
  • 1985: On February 19, a ruptured Natural Gas Liquids pipeline caused a flash fire that burned 5 members of a pipeline repair crew, about from Edmonton, Alberta.
  • 1986: On October 27, a butane pipeline was hit by a pipeline crew, in Sarnia, Ontario; 4 workers were injured.
  • 1995: At 05:42 EST, on 29 July 1995, an initial rupture and a fire occurred on the TransCanada PipeLines Limited natural gas pipeline near Rapid City, Manitoba. At 06:34 EST, a second rupture and a fire occurred on the adjacent natural gas pipeline at the same location.
  • 1996: On April 15, a rupture, followed by an explosion and fire at 18:29 EST, occurred on the TransCanada PipeLines Limited natural gas pipeline, at Kilometre Post Mainline Valve 39-2 +, southwest of Winnipeg, near the town of St. Norbert, Manitoba.
  • 1997: On April 30, a rupture occurred on the Westcoast Energy Inc. outside diameter Monias pipeline at Mile Post 20, near Fort St. John, British Columbia. Approximately of sour natural gas was released and ignited.
  • 1997: On December 2, a rupture occurred at an area of external corrosion on the TransCanada PipeLines Limited outside diameter Line 100–3 at main line valve 5-3 +, near Cabri, Saskatchewan. Approximately of natural gas was released as a result of the rupture. The gas ignited immediately, resulting in damage to the surrounding soil and vegetation. The main fire self-extinguished within 20 minutes of the line break.
  • 1999: On May 20, Line 3 on the Enbridge Pipelines Inc. pipeline system ruptured, releasing of Cold Lake heavy crude oil, east of Regina, Saskatchewan. Approximately of farmland was affected by crude oil.
  • 2000: On December 28, a release of natural gas resulted in an explosion that destroyed the electrical and services building, heavily damaged the compressor building, and damaged the remaining buildings at the East Hereford compressor station, approximately SE of Magog, Quebec. Before the occurrence, the station had been shut down due to an unintentional manual initiation of the station's emergency shutdown system. Following the emergency shutdown of the compressor station, a maintenance person was sent to the station to reinitiate the electric motor-driven compressor unit. During the day, after repeatedly trying to get the station into the ready state mode, to return the station to normal pipeline operations, an explosion occurred. The on-site maintenance person was seriously injured.
  • 2001: On January 17, a rupture occurred on the Enbridge Pipelines Inc. outside diameter Line 3/4 at Mile Post 109.42, downstream of the Hardisty pump station near Hardisty, Alberta. The rupture occurred in a permanent slough that was fed by an underground spring. Although the line was shut down at the control centre in Edmonton, Alberta, within minutes of the rupture, the exact location of the rupture was not found until after 13 hours. Approximately of crude oil was released and contained within a section. As of 1 May 2001, of crude oil had been recovered.
  • 2001: On September 29, a rupture occurred on the Enbridge Pipelines Inc. outside diameter Line 10 at Mile Post 1885.64, near Binbrook, Ontario. Line 10 transports crude oil from Westover, Ontario, to Buffalo, New York, United States. The rupture occurred in an agricultural field planted with soybeans. Within eight minutes of the rupture, the control center operator in Edmonton, Alberta, shut the line down and began to sectionalize it. Remedial action response teams contained the spill to two general areas, a natural swale running perpendicular to the pipeline and the pipeline trench. Approximately of crude oil were released, affecting a section of land.
  • 2002: On April 14, a rupture occurred on the -diameter natural gas transmission pipeline, at a zone of near-neutral pH stress corrosion cracking, on Line 100-3 of the TransCanada PipeLines, at main-line valve 31-3 +, approximately from the village of Brookdale, Manitoba. Following the rupture, the sweet natural gas ignited. With the automatic closure of main-line valves upstream and downstream of the rupture site, the fire self-extinguished at 2:30AM, on 15 April 2002. There were no injuries. As a precautionary measure, approximately 100 people were evacuated from the occurrence area within a radius, including the village of Brookdale, for a period of one day.
  • 2002: A refined product pipeline rupture near Saint-Clet, Quebec, on December 7, from Trans Northern Pipelines Inc. diameter mainline kilometer post 63.57, estimated of low sulphur diesel released to area and drainage systems.
  • 2003: A backhoe punctured a pipeline in Etobicoke, Ontario, the resulting explosion killed 7 people.
  • 2005: On July 15, an employee of Terasen Pipelines Inc. discovered crude oil on the pipeline right-of-way, on the north side of Ward Road, Abbotsford, British Columbia. Before the discovery, the company had been delivering crude oil out of the Sumas Tank Farm, when it received odor complaints from local residents. Approximately of crude oil was released into the surrounding area and made its way into Kilgard Creek. There were no injuries.
  • 2007: A crude oil pipeline owned and operated by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners was ruptured by an excavator digging a storm sewer trench in Burnaby, British Columbia.
  • 2007: On 15 April, a rupture occurred on Enbridge Pipelines’ outside diameter Line 3 at Mile Post 506.2217 downstream of the Glenavon pump station near Glenavon, Saskatchewan. The rupture occurred in a wetland area of farmland. Approximately of crude oil were released, of which approximately were recovered. There were no injuries. The cause was determined to be corrosion cracking.
  • 2007: On July 24, the Westridge Dock Transfer Line, owned by Trans Mountain Pipeline L.P. and operated by Kinder Morgan Canada Inc., was struck and punctured by a contractor's excavator bucket while the contractor was excavating a trench for a new storm sewer line along Inlet Drive in Burnaby, British Columbia. When the pipeline was punctured, approximately of crude oil were released, approximately of which was recovered. Crude oil flowed into Burrard Inlet Bay via the Burnaby storm sewer system. Eleven houses were sprayed with crude oil; many other residential properties required restoration, and approximately 250 residents voluntarily left their homes. There were no explosions, fires, or injuries. Emergency workers and two firefighters responding to the incident were sprayed with crude oil. Two members of the public were also sprayed.
  • 2009: A July 20 Alberta pipeline explosion and fire involved a TransCanada Corporation natural gas pipeline. The explosion, which sent 50 meter flames into the air, destroyed a wooded area. The NEB said the delay in releasing the report was caused by an "administrative error" when an employee left without transferring the file over. The Peace River Mainline pipeline, built in 1968, had ruptured six times and leaked on 17 occasions until 2014. The line ruptured in 2009 due to corrosion.
  • 2009: On 12 September, TransCanada Corporation's Gas Control received notification, from the Englehart Fire Department through its Emergency Notification Line, of an explosion and fire south of its Compressor Station 107, located near Swastika, Ontario. At the time of the occurrence, TransCanada was transporting sweet natural gas. Escaping gas from a pipeline rupture had ignited, resulting in the explosion. A large crater was created, and two sections of pipe broke from the system, with one section being ejected approximately from the rupture site. There were no injuries.
  • 2009: On 26 September, TransCanada Corporation's Line 100-1 ruptured, near Marten River, Ontario. At 11:51, Gas Control at TransCanada's Calgary office became aware of this event when Main Line Valve 112–1, on the upstream side of Compressor Station 112, automatically shut off due to low pipeline pressure. At the time of the occurrence, TransCanada was transporting sweet natural gas. The escaping gas did not ignite. A large crater was created, and pipe pieces were ejected from the failed pipeline section and spread around the occurrence site. There were no injuries.
  • 2009: On 29 September, an Enbridge crude oil pipeline, Line 2, leaked at Mile Post 474.7335, immediately downstream of the Odessa pump station near Odessa, Saskatchewan. The leak occurred at a crack within a shallow dent at the 6 o’clock position on the pipe. There were indications of gouging associated with the dent. The release occurred in a low-lying, densely vegetated marsh. Approximately of crude oil were released, of which most were recovered. There were no injuries.
  • 2009: A refined product pipeline ruptured near Farran's Point, Ontario, on Ottawa Lateral, on October 5, from Trans Northern Pipelines Inc. system, unknown petroleum product, unknown quantity. Transportation Safety Board Report Number P09H0086.
  • 2009: On November 22, a sour gas pipeline ruptured, near Pouce Coupe, British Columbia. Residents nearby first smelled gas at 2:30 am, but 911 was not called until 8:36 am. EnCana notified residents of the leak at 10:16 am.
  • 2010: A refined product pipeline rupture at Bronte Creek in Oakville, Ontario, detected on March 11, from Trans Northern Pipeline Inc. system, estimated of gasoline released to creek, soil, and ground water. Transportation Safety Board Report Number P10H0021.
  • 2011: On February 19, TransCanada PipeLines Limited's gas control operator received notification through its emergency notification line of a pipeline fire and explosion near Beardmore, Ontario. At the time of the occurrence, TransCanada was transporting sweet natural gas. Escaping gas from a pipeline rupture had ignited, resulting in the explosion. A large crater was created, and three pieces of pipe broke from the system, with pipe and other debris being ejected up to 100 m from the rupture site. Six residents near the site evacuated until the fire was extinguished. There were no injuries.
  • 2011: In April, a pipeline break northeast of Peace River, Alberta, leaked 28,000 barrels of crude oil, Some wildlife was killed from the spill. The Energy Resources Conservation Board, an independent government agency that was dissolved in 2013, reprimanded the company, saying it had inadequate leak detection and failed to test its emergency response plan.
  • 2011: On April 30, a leak on a pipeline carrying sour gas killed 1 worker, and injured another, near Fox Creek, Alberta.
  • 2012: In June, almost 2,400 barrels of sour crude oil leaked into a creek that flows into the Red Deer River, located about north of Calgary, near the community of Sundre.
  • 2012: On June 19, an Enbridge pipeline had a gasket failure, spilling about 1,400 barrels of crude oil, at a pumping station near Elk Point, Alberta.
  • 2012: On June 23, an ignition and fire occurred in a valve-enclosure structure at Spectra Energy Transmission Compressor Station N4, located approximately northwest of Fort St. John, British Columbia. Two maintenance employees sustained burn injuries when sweet natural gas that had been leaking from a station valve ignited. The 2 employees were performing annual inspection work on motor-operated valves. The injured employees were air-lifted to the Fort St. John Hospital. One employee was released later that day, while the second employee was transferred to a burn unit in Vancouver.
  • 2012: On June 28, a pipeline rupture and ignition occurred on Westcoast Energy Inc.'s Nig Creek pipeline, located about northwest of Buick, British Columbia. Approximately 25 minutes later, a pipeline rupture and ignition occurred on Bonavista Energy Corporation's pipeline installed nearby in the same right-of-way. At the time of the ruptures, both pipelines had been shut down and contained pressurized sour gas. The fire spread to adjacent forested areas. A large crater was created, and one piece of the Nig Creek pipe was ejected along with other debris to approximately 20 m from the rupture site. There were no injuries and no evacuation was required.
  • 2013: In June, between of produced water escaped from a pipeline, in addition to 24 barrels of oil, near Little Buffalo, Alberta.
  • 2013: On June 20, debris in river flood water broke a gas pipeline in Turner Valley, Alberta, releasing sour gas. 50 homes were evacuated in the area for a time. There were no injuries reported.
  • 2013: On October 17, a 36-inch natural gas pipeline ruptured southwest of Fort McMurray, Alberta. An estimated of natural gas were released. The rupture did not result in a fire, there were no injuries and no evacuation was required. A fracture in a pipe elbow was the identified for the reason of the failure.
  • 2014: On January 25, a TransCanada Corporation gas transmission pipeline Line 400-1 exploded and burned, near Otterburne, Manitoba, causing a natural gas shortage in Manitoba and parts of the United States. Natural gas burned for approximately 12 hours. Five residences in the immediate vicinity were evacuated, and Provincial Highway 303 was closed until the fire was extinguished. There were no injuries.
  • 2014: On April 2, a pipeline failed, and spilled of oil and processed water, northwest of Slave Lake, Alberta.
  • 2014: In November, of crude oil spilled into muskeg from a failed pipeline, in Red Earth Creek in northern Alberta. Officials were delayed in reaching the scene, due to poor weather at the time.
  • 2015: On March 1, a pipeline leak spilled about of condensate, in Northern Alberta.
  • 2015: On May 5, a gas transmission pipeline failed approximately southeast of Drumheller, Alberta. The incident resulted in an undetermined volume of sweet natural gas and associated hydrocarbon liquid being released onto agricultural land.
  • 2015: On July 15, a pipeline at a Long Lake oil sands facility in northern Alberta leaked about 31,500 barrels of oil emulsion. The spill covered approximately but was mostly contained within the pipeline's right of way.
  • 2015: On August 14, a leak from a pipeline spilled about of an oil, water, and gas emulsion on the Hay Lake First Nation, about northwest of High Level, Alberta.
  • 2016: On July 21, a leaking Husky Energy pipeline spilled of oil into the North Saskatchewan River, prompting a massive cleanup.
  • 2017: On February 17, a total of 962 barrels of oil condensate in Strathcona County, Alberta, were released from line 2A, near Anthony Henday Drive and 92 Avenue, after line was struck during 3rd party construction operations.
  • 2018: On January 7, a butane oil pipeline ruptured in Saint John, New Brunswick. About 30 homes in the area were evacuated, as well as the SPCA Animal Rescue League Shelter.
  • 2018: On May 27, a Trans Mountain pipeline leaked at the company's Darfield station north of Kamloops, British Columbia. About 23 barrels of crude were released.
  • 2018: On October 9, a 36-inch Enbridge natural gas pipeline exploded north of Prince George, British Columbia. About 1 million BC customers and 750,000 US customers were affected. Natural gas customers were asked to reduce use.
  • 2020: On June 13, a Trans Mountain pipeline leaked at the company's Sumas pumping station in Abbotsford, British Columbia. An estimated of crude were released.