Pipeline operator South Bow Corp. says it expects an in-depth report out in September on a recent pipeline leak, but so far it doesn’t see it indicating wider problems on its Keystone pipeline.
The April 8 leak of about 3,500 barrels near Fort Ransom, N.D., forced the company to shut the pipeline down for about a week, while cleanup efforts were done in early June.
South Bow’s chief operating officer Richard Prior said the company will know more once results of the third party root cause failure analysis out next month, but that early tests found the source of the failure was a crack on a seam weld.
“From everything that we’ve seen so far, we’re not seeing evidence that this is a broad systemic issue that we’re not going to be able to get our arms around,” said Prior on an earnings call Thursday.
He said the company should be able to address any issues through the remedial actions it’s completing now or will once the analysis is done, along with enhancements to its ongoing integrity program.
The company gave the update as it reported a net income of US$96 million in its second quarter, up from US$88 million in the same quarter last year.
Prior said the cost of the spill should total about US$60 million, which should be covered by insurance.
South Bow was asked on its earnings call about how the increased talk in Canada of new energy infrastructure, including oil pipelines, could affect the company, but chief executive Bevin Wirzba’s answer focused mostly on efforts to add to the company’s existing systems.
“For South Bow, we remain committed to leveraging our pre-invested capital that we have, not only in our Alberta systems, but also in our Gulf Coast section, and we’re looking to work with customers to find solutions to provide incremental capacity solutions for them over the next number of years.”
Calgary-based South Bow says earnings amounted to 46 cents per share in the quarter ending June 30, up from 42 cents last year.
On an adjusted basis, its profit worked out to 42 cents per share, up from 34 cents last year, while the mean analyst expectation had been for 34 cents per share this quarter as well, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.
The company had average throughput of 544,000 barrels per day on its Keystone pipeline, and 760,000 barrels per day on the U.S. Gulf Coast segment of the Keystone pipeline system.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2025.
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