By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug. 7 -- BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. has begun the phased shutdown of Prudhoe Bay oil field following the discovery of severe corrosion and a small spill from a Prudhoe Bay oil transit line.
The process will take days to complete, BP said in an Aug. 7 release, adding that the shutdown will reduce Alaska North Slope oil production by 400,000 b/d. Upon the news, the price of crude oil began rising on the New York Mercantile Exchange, and analysts questioned how California refineries would make up for the lost ANS crude production. No immediate comment was available from the California refiners.
BP said its analysis of smart pig run data from late July showed 16 anomalies in 12 locations in a pipeline on the field's east side, prompting inspections of anomalies where corrosion-related wall thinning appeared severe.
It was during these inspections that BP discovered a leak and a 4-5 bbl spill, which has been contained. The pipeline was shut down Aug. 6. BP has notified state and federal officials.
BP America Chairman and Pres. Bob Malone said the leak and smart pig run called into question the condition of the oil transit lines at Prudhoe Bay.
"We will not resume operation of the field until we and government regulators are satisfied that they can be operated safely and pose no threat to the environment," Malone said.
BP is working to speed inspection of its 22 miles of oil pipeline at Prudhoe Bay. Smart pigging inspection has been completed over about 40% of the route.
Missed deadlines
Last month, the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) increased pressure on BP to improve its operations on the ANS after the company missed deadlines to repair and clean leaking Prudhoe Bay Operating Area pipelines (OGJ Online, July 31, 2006).
Thomas J. Barrett, who on June 16 became the Department of Transportation regulatory agency's director, said PHMSA insists that BP begin draining 17,000 bbl of oil from three low-stress oil pipelines in the operating area by Aug. 22. BP said it would meet the deadline.
PHMSA on July 20 ordered BP Alaska to provide specific information and plans for handling accumulated solids in the pipelines. The order followed BP's failure to meet earlier deadlines under a Mar. 15 Corrective Action Order PHMSA issued after a leak was discovered Mar. 2.
About 6,000 bbl of crude oil, operating at 87 psi, is believed to have leaked from the pipeline as a result of corrosion at a low point of the system at a caribou crossing (OGJ, Mar. 27, 2006, Newsletter).
BP Alaska immediately took out of service the pipeline section that leaked.
