The Lower Mainland’s lifeline for gasoline and jet fuel was shutdown Friday following reports of an oil leak, Kinder Morgan Canada said Monday.
The company said it shutdown the 1,150-kilometre Trans Mountain Pipeline after a possible oil leak was detected in a field 150 kilometres west of Edmonton on April 22.
For the last half century, the pipeline has transported petroleum products from Edmonton to the Lower Mainland.
Trans Mountain supplies more than 90% of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel delivered to the central Interior and Lower Mainland.
It also transports jet fuel from Chevron’s Burnaby refinery and supplies approximately 80% of Vancouver International Airport’s fuel needs.
Kinder Morgan spokeswoman Lexa Hobenshield said an investigation is underway, but poor weather has hampered the company’s efforts to determine the source of the alleged leak.
“We had a call in from a third party to our call centre on Friday afternoon reporting what looked like a very small amount, in a very small area, of oil on a right of way,” Hobenshield said. “And so we immediately shut the line down.”
She wouldn’t speculate as to how the shutdown could affect supply for Lower Mainland gas stations or the airport.
The company expected to restart the pipeline Tuesday after an overnight inspection failed to find a leak.