Husky oil spill: more than 2,000 pipelines in Saskatchewan database

There are more than 2,000 pipelines licensed to operate in Saskatchewan, according to the Ministry of the Economy andthe number shoots up when smallerflowlinesare considered.

The ministry's database of licensed pipelines has 2,062entries, most of them oil and gas pipelines.They range in length from a few metres to 291 kilometres.

A relatively small portion are for moving water, steam, carbon dioxide and other substances through the oil patch.

Husky oil pipeline 1 of hundreds in province

Saskatchewan's pipelines have been on the public's mind lately after a massive oil spill on the North SaskatchewanRiver.

Prince Albert, North Battleford and other communities have declared local states of emergency andofficials have scrambled to arrangedrinking water for their citizens.

According to the Saskatchewan Auditor, in addition to pipelines,there were also another 68,000 flowlines in the province in 2011. They're narrow lines which are used to transport oil and gas from the wellhead to a storage or other facility.

The number of flowlines is growing by up to 4,000 a year, the auditor said, suggesting the total in 2016 would be well over 70,000.