Alyeska plans multiple summer shutdowns

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. has three shutdowns scheduled in May and June, and two more tentatively scheduled for late July and early August.

Alyeska said the shutdowns will last from eight to 18 hours and include maintenance shutdowns in the next month and two shutdowns later in the summer to install straight pipe at Pump Station 6.

The major maintenance shutdowns are a critical part of Alyeska’s ongoing pipeline integrity management program, the company said, and involve a significant investment of resources.

The first shutdown, May 18, will last for eight hours and allow installation of temporary bypass piping around Pump Station 5, allowing the station to be isolated while piping inside the station is modified over an eight-day period.

The bypass piping will be removed and normal flow restored at Pump Station 5 during an eight-hour shutdown May 27. Safety integrity pressure protection system, SIPPS, work will also be done at Pump Station 3 during the May 27 shutdown.

An 18-hour shutdown June 2 is for mainline valve testing from Pump Station 5 to Pump Station 7 and SIPPS work at Pump Station 11.

The shutdowns for pipe installation at Pump Station 6 are tentatively scheduled for July 28 and Aug. 5.

Alyeska said it conducts line-wide shutdowns annually to allow maintenance crews time to work on projects simultaneously along the line and at the Valdez Marine Terminal. The shutdowns typically coincide with producers’ routine maintenance on equipment and facilities on the North Slope.

—Petroleum News