Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. plans to start its Trans Alaska Pipeline today after repairs to the line that carries 11 percent of U.S. crude production took longer than scheduled.
The operator intends to resume flows through the line “early” local time Jan. 17, according to a situation report by the Unified Command in Fairbanks, Alaska, which was formed in response to the leak and includes Alyeska, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
“The shutdown was expected to last approximately 36 hours but sealing and draining of the piping took longer than expected,” according to the report. The closure was originally scheduled to conclude at noon local time on Jan. 16 after workers spent 36 hours installing a bypass around a leak on the pipe, the company said.
A breach on Jan. 8 closed the pipeline. It was temporarily started Jan. 11 to help prevent wax and ice accumulation inside the pipe. The 800-mile (1,287-kilometer) line carries oil from Prudhoe Bay south to Valdez, where it’s loaded on tankers bound for refineries in Alaska and on the U.S. West Coast.
BP Plc, ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp. were forced to suspend 95 percent of production from the North Slope area, sending crude prices higher. The pipe transported an average of 641,517 barrels a day in December, according to the Alaska Department of Revenue website.
Oil inventories in Alaska were at about 1.47 million barrels of crude as of Jan. 13, the most recent data available, down from 2.45 million Jan. 12, according to the state’s Web site.
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-17/trans-alaska-crude-oil-pipeline-resumption-delayed-by-ongoing-leak-repairs.html
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