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BP directed to complete pipeline testing
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has directed BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. “to take additional measures to ensure safety on its Prudhoe Bay pipelines as a result of a pipeline failure in March 2006.”
The agency said July 20 that it is requiring BP to submit a comprehensive engineering plan for draining 17,000 barrels of oil in the idled Western Operations Area pipeline, to complete engineering plans to assure sediment within the pipelines is safely stored to avoid contamination and maintain the safety of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline system.
Samples from the pipeline walls and photographs of pipeline solids in the Eastern Operations pipeline are being required to determine whether the pipeline is ready for an internal smart pig.
The requirements are a result of the March failure of BP’s Prudhoe Bay Western Operations Area 34-inch low-pressure pipeline; the agency said it issued an order requiring smart pigging immediately after the failure.
BP planning transit line draining BP Exploration (Alaska) spokesman Daren Beaudo told Petroleum News in a July 26 e-mail that BP intends to meet the terms of the July 20 order.
“Addressing the government’s concerns on this issue is a top priority with BP,” he said.
BP intends to drain Oil Transmit Line 21 that leaked, as mandated by the agency. He said the method for emptying the oil transit line has not been chosen but BP will present a plan to the agency by its Aug. 1 deadline.
The 3.1 mile stretch of oil transit line was taken out of service and stabilized at the time of the spill, Beaudo said. That is where the 17,000 barrels of oil are located. He said BP will replace the line next year.
“BP will take the OT21 oil material to one of the flow stations or gathering centers and add it to the normal production flow of oil,” Beaudo said.
He said the total costs associated with the spill from Oil Transmit Line 21 were $50 million, including cleanup costs, replacement of the line, a new pig launcher, the 24-inch production bypass line and another bypass line BP is designing and constructing “that will enable us to handle solids generated by pigging in existing Prudhoe Bay facilities.”
—Kristen Nelson
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