North Dakota oil spill reported

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NEWTOWN, N.D., Nov. 23 (UPI) -- More than 5,000 barrels of liquids were hauled from the site of a weekend oil spill in North Dakota, an oil company said in a statement.

Whiting Petroleum Corp., an independent oil company tapping into oil fields in the northern United States, reported a "well incident" occurred during the weekend.

The failure of a valve near a wellhead about 8 miles north of Newtown, N.D., caused oil, water and natural gas to spill from the well.

Whiting said operations at the site were "immediately shut down" and the area was evacuated with no injuries reported.

The company said the flow of liquids was dwindling by Sunday. More than 5,000 barrels of water and 420 barrels of raw crude were hauled to a collection facility by Monday.

The company said the well was still flowing at a rate of about 1,400 barrels per day, though 90 percent of that volume was water.

The oil company said its personnel were on the scene trying to control the flow of liquids from the well.