One hundred Pipeline Incidents in Last Two Years

Industry execs say the number is decreasing, but, with more and more pipelines being constructed, that could very well change.

In the past two years, the federal government recorded 100 oil and gas leaks and accidents from pipelines criss-crossing the country, although industry executives say that number is well below where it stood just five or six years ago. Three-quarters of the leaks came from pipelines operated by Enbridge and TransCanada, two energy giants based in Calgary. TransCanada's new Keystone pipeline was alone responsible for 21 of the leaks, although none were particularly large. Energy associations say pipeline ruptures have been more than halved since 2002, and that the severity of them has decreased as well. Granted, the largest oil spill in recent years – a leak from the Rainbow pipeline that released 28,000 barrels onto northern Alberta soil in May – wasn't even recorded by the feds, as it falls under provincial jurisdiction.