Flash fire at Alpine during maintenance

Kristen Nelson

Petroleum News

There was a flash fire on Aug. 1 at ConocoPhillips Alaska's Alpine Central Facility.

The company said in a statement that three contract workers were injured. The three "were performing planned maintenance during an equipment outage."

Work in the area was immediately stopped. The injured workers were treated initially at the Alpine Medical Clinic and then flown to Anchorage for further assessment and treatment. The company said one of the workers was released from the hospital Aug. 2 and the other two reported in stable treatment and receiving treatment.

ConocoPhillips said a planned maintenance shutdown at the Alpine Central Facility started Aug. 1 and was expected to continue through Aug. 10.

"Our primary concern is for the safety and well-being of personnel who have been affected by this incident. The company is providing and will continue to provide, support and assistance to affected personnel."

The company said an investigation into the cause of the incident is being conducted.

The Alpine Central Facility processes crude from ConocoPhillips' Colville River unit and from its Greater Mooses Tooth unit in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The most recent production data from the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is for June and shows average production of 32,593 barrels per day, some 7% of North Slope production for the month.

--KRISTEN NELSON