Thursday August 10, 2006

More BP Alaska pipeline news

An aerial photo of the BP leak site in Alaska

US could open emergency oil reserve as BP battles leak
channelnewsasia.com :

The US government has said that it would take a "serious look" at requests from refiners to tap the nation's emergency oil stockpile after BP said it was shutting down a critical Alaskan pipeline. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve, an emergency stockpile which is only meant to be tapped in times of national crisis, currently holds 688 million barrels of oil. The SPR was last opened up to refiners after devastating hurricanes ravaged US oil installations a year ago. Prudhoe Bay accounts for about half of Alaska's total oil output and about 8% of total US production.

BP restart of Prudhoe Bay oil field may take months
marketwatch.com :

The restart of crude oil production at the BP-operated Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska could take months as the energy major works to diagnose and repair problems in a pipeline system. The U.S. West Coast is highly dependent on crude supply from Prudhoe Bay. The legendary oil field has been producing since 1977 and hit peak output of about 1 million barrels a day in the late 1980s. Since then, the field has been in gradual decline.

Oil production at Prudhoe Bay could take six months or, perhaps, as much as a year to return to normal, Societe Generale said. "The whole thing will take at least a couple of weeks, which could turn into months if the problems turn out to be extensive," said Phil Flynn, an analyst and trader at the Alaron Corp. brokerage in Chicago.

Alaska launches BP probe
news.yahoo.com :

Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski suggested that BP misled the state with satisfactory maintenance reports and launched an investigation into the oil giant's handling of its pipeline corrosion. Alaska is expected to lose $6.4 million a day in tax revenues during the Prudhoe Bay shutdown and Murkowski instituted a hiring freeze for all state government jobs until there is more information about the duration of the shutdown.

Alaska House Speaker John Harris said lawmakers plan a series of hearings into pipeline corrosion starting next week. Those hearings should include information from oil-field whistle-blowers who have warned in the past about corrosion, and possible shortcomings in state oversight, said Harris, a Republican from Valdez.

See also :

1. Major Alaskan oil field shutting down

(2006-08-10 14:08:52 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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