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Two oil spills reported in North Dakota

Weekend oil spills posed few public risks.

By Daniel J. Graeber
Weekend oil spills reported in North Dakota, state at the heart of the U.S. shale boom. UPI/A.J. Sisco..
Weekend oil spills reported in North Dakota, state at the heart of the U.S. shale boom. UPI/A.J. Sisco.. | License Photo

BISMARCK, N.D., June 9 (UPI) -- Two separate weekend spills in North Dakota, a state at the heart of the U.S. oil boom, released about 1,000 barrels, the state's health department said.

The North Dakota Department of Health said all liquid oil was removed from the site of Saturday's spill of about 300 barrels in McKenzie County.

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"Most of the oil was confined to the trench, and no bodies of water were affected by the spill," the state agency said in a Saturday statement.

There was no public comment from Belle Fourche Pipeline Co., which operated the pipeline damaged during trenching operations.

About 690 barrels of oil leaked from a pipeline in Mountrail County, east of McKenzie County. The state health agency said all of the oil was contained on site, though there was no word what caused the release.

Production from the Bakken reserve area in the state makes it the No. 2 oil producer after Texas. Its rise as a shale oil producer has coincided with a series of energy-related accidents.

Pipeline company Tesoro Logistics reported 20,000 barrels of oil spilled from a pipeline in Tioga, N.D., in October, one of the largest oil spills on land in U.S. history.

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