BP has Flow Station 2 flow line spill

BP Exploration (Alaska) discovered a spill at Flow Station 2 flow line 9A early Feb. 18, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation said Feb. 19. FS-2 is in the eastern operating area at the Prudhoe Bay field on Alaska’s North Slope.

DEC said the spill occurred on a gravel pad; 11 wells were shutin.

BP spokesman Steve Rinehart told Petroleum News Feb. 19 that the spill was discovered by an operator performing routine rounds about 2 a.m. Feb. 18. Rinehart said the operator saw what looked like steam rising from the pipeline rack about 300 feet from the inlet module at Flow Station 2.

The leak was stopped Feb. 18 and there is no pooling beneath the leak or spread from the leak site or other indication of large volume, Rinehart said.

Crews are clearing snow and delineating the spill area and size, Rinehart said. The spill appears to be confined to the FS-2 pad.

He said the spill volume is not determined but preliminary indications suggest it is small. BP is working to reroute the production into other lines. Rinehart said the production is minor, some 1,300 barrels per day; Prudhoe Bay has been producing 391,000 bpd on average in February.

—Petroleum News