Alyeska Pipeline hits safety milestone

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. said May 12 that its employees and contractors, some 1,600 people, have worked 10 million hours without a “day away from work case.” That means no worker has been injured to the extent they missed a day of work since June 2009, the company said.

Alyeska operates and maintains the trans-Alaska pipeline system, 800 miles of pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to the Port of Valdez. While many workers are in offices in Fairbanks, Anchorage and Valdez, the company said the “vast majority” of its workers are “in the field, in high-risk occupations from pump stations on the North Slope to tanker loading and escort on Prince William Sound.”

“TAPS employees up and down the line have done a tremendous job keeping focused on safety while performing difficult work under potentially hazardous conditions,” Alyeska President Tom Barrett said in a statement. “Working 10 million hours without a DAFWC would be good news in any business, but considering TAPS transports crude oil over 800 miles of wilderness in arctic conditions, this is a very significant accomplishment. Thanks to a very strong safety culture, everyone working on TAPS is coming home safely.”

Owners are BP Pipelines (Alaska), ConocoPhillips Transportation Alaska, ExxonMobil Pipeline Co., Unocal Pipeline Co. and Koch Alaska Pipeline Co.

—Petroleum News