A new report from American scientists have found that diluted bitumen -also known as dilbit- is no more corrosive than light crude oil.
A U.K study published earlier this year also came to the same conclusion.
The U.S. National Academy of Sciences released the report yesterday and also broke the news to TransCanada – the company behind the Keystone X.L.
One of the environmental reasons the oil sands pipeline has been delayed by the U.S. government was because of concerns the diluted crude was more corrosive making it more apt to leak.
In January 2012, a legislation was passed calling on the Department of Transportation to find out whether the dilbit had more of a risk of leaking compared to other crude oils.
The department then turned to the National Research Council and the NAS to do the research.
It says shipments of dilbit doesn’t contain higher concentrations of water, sediment, dissolved gases or anything else that can cause or aggravate corrosion from the inside.
This doesn’t only make TransCanada happy but also other pipeline companies which are building or have proposed projects such as Kinder Morgan and Enbridge.
The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association in a release says the findings by a reputable organization like NAS strengthens what it’s always known.
U.S. President Barack Obama said earlier in the week that the Keystone X.L will only be ok’d if it won’t increase emissions.
A decision is expected on the project that would ship Alberta bitumen to the U.S. Gulf Coast before the end of the year.
June 27th, 2013
