By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Sept. 12 -- The Regulatory Commission of Alaska granted temporary permits for BP PLC to connect the east side of Prudhoe Bay field to the nearby Endicott pipeline, enabling the restart of 105,000 b/d of oil production.
About half of the normal 400,000 b/d of oil production from Prudhoe Bay has been shut down since August because of corrosion problems in an oil transit line.
The permits grant BP permission to install connections between the Endicott pipeline and Prudhoe Bay field Flow Stations 1 and 2.
BP executives said last week that they expect field output to be restored by the end of October (OGJ Online, Sept. 8, 2006).
In addition, BP must get approval from the US Department of Transportation before it restarts any portion of the transit line in the eastern part of Prudhoe Bay field.