NEW YORK (Reuters) - A pipeline operated by Exxon Mobil Corp leaked as many as 1,000 barrels of crude oil into the Yellowstone River in Montana and has been shut down, the company said.
Exxon said it found the leak from the EMPCo pipeline early on Saturday morning. The pipeline runs only in Montana, from Silver Tip to Billings. Oil has now been found as far as 5 miles downriver from the leak site.
The company said on Sunday it was still looking into the cause, estimating the oil release at anywhere from 750 to 1,000 barrels. One barrel of oil is equivalent to 42 gallons (163 liters).
The Billings Gazette on Sunday cited conflicting reports from Exxon officials as to the extent of the leak. The paper carried pictures of absorbent bags piled along the side of a road running parallel to the river, ribbons of oil sticking to logs and one of a turtle stuck in oily mud.
The leak came one day after a Maryland jury awarded plaintiffs suing Exxon $1.5 billion in damages for a 2006 leak at a gasoline station.
Exxon said it had set up a claims hotline for the Montana spill, which had already received 40 calls.
(Reporting by Ben Berkowitz, editing by Maureen Bavdek and Dale Hudson)
