BP in Alaska: Endicott poses environmental challenges

Endicott’s environmental challenges proved to be as great or greater than engineering and construction hurdles. Located offshore, its proximity to fish and wildlife habitat resulted in substantial environmental scrutiny.

During project planning, great care was taken to ensure environmental and habitat protection. Prior to development, an unprecedented number of government approvals and environmental permits established that the project could be developed based on a breached causeway approach which would allow fish migration through three breached gaps.

Endicott’s environmental monitoring program — the largest of its kind ever conducted in the Arctic — ran for about 10 years, at a cost of about $5 million each year. It included:

• a seven-year assessment program to evaluate fish movement, distribution and prey;

• an oceanography program to evaluate water quality;

• a terrestrial program directed toward caribou and snow geese concerns.

Over the years, the studies revealed there were no significant changes in nearshore water quality or in fish movements. The nearby snow goose population increased steadily. The Endicott road and pipeline were not observed to pose a barrier to snow goose or caribou movements.

During Endicott’s production life, it has served as a base of operations for a number of scientific studies, including polar bear research.

Resolution of Endicott’s environmental issues was a critical step in the development of the Point McIntyre field, developed by ARCO, BP and Exxon on the western shoreline of Prudhoe Bay — also considered an environmentally sensitive area. Discovered in 1988, Point McIntyre didn’t go into production until 1993 and by early 1997 became one of the top 10 producing oil fields in the United States.

—Frank Baker