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BP orders three double-hull oil tankers for Alaska trade National Steel and Shipbuilding of San Diego to delivery first ship in 2003; design work under way, construction to begin in early 2002 Kristen Nelson PNA News Editor
BP has placed an order for three state-of-the-art double-hull oil tankers for the Alaska trade, with an option for three more vessels, the company said Sept. 15.
BP said delivery of the vessels will satisfy the commitment it made as part of an agreement with the state of Alaska to accelerate — by an average of one year — the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 retirement dates of the non-double hull vessels in BP’s chartered Alaska fleet.
The contract for the three 1.3 million-barrel-capacity vessels is in excess of $630 million; design work is under way with construction scheduled to begin in early 2002.
The tankers will be built by National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. of San Diego, which is scheduled to deliver the tankers in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
BP said it will complete conversion of its Alaska fleet to double hulls in 2006.
“These ships have been designed for exceptional environmental performance and cost effective transportation of North Slope oil to market,” Anne Drinkwater, BP’s business unit leader for Alaska Pipelines & Marine, said in a statement. Present core fleet six vessels BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. spokesman Ronnie Chappell told PNA Sept. 15 that the company’s core fleet now consists of six vessels. Some of the six are as large as the 1.3 million barrel capacity “Alaska class” tankers BP has ordered, he said, but most of the existing core fleet are smaller.
Chappell said that with changes in the last year, the company’s need for tankers has changed. At the beginning of the year, BP routinely shipped oil in 11 vessels. With the Prudhoe Bay alignment agreement and the acquisition of refineries on the West Coast with the completion of the ARCO purchase, the company’s tanker needs changed. BP’s net North Slope production went from 360,000 barrels of oil a day to 300,000 barrels a day, Chappell said, and the company stopped exporting oil. The longer routes for export required more ships. BP also benefits from the fact that its tankers now go to dedicated discharge point, Cherry Point or Los Angeles. The new ships will replace three of the six core ships now carrying oil for BP.
The tankers ordered for BP, with a capacity of 1.3 million barrels, are somewhat larger than the “millennium class” tankers which will begin carrying crude oil for Phillips Alaska Inc. next year. The Phillips’ tankers have a capacity just in excess of 1 million barrels. When the tankers were ordered by ARCO, the company said they were the maximum size allowed by law in Puget Sound. Chappell said the limit is the cargo on the vessel rather than the vessel, and said the “Alaska class” tankers will provide BP with maximum flexibility. Redundant propulsion, steering In addition to double hulls, the new “Alaska class” tankers will be built with redundant propulsion and steering systems which include twin diesel electric power systems in segregated engine rooms, twin propellers and twin rudders. BP said the diesel electric propulsion systems will reduce air emissions at sea and in port and also reduce maintenance downtime. Propeller shafts will be cooled and lubricated with seawater instead of lubricating oil, BP said, eliminating a possible source of accidental oil leaks. To reduce the risk of small spills, cargo piping will be installed in the cargo tanks instead of on deck. The ships will be fitted with state-of-the-art machinery and cargo control systems and an integrated navigation system.
The vessels have 18 cargo tanks, are 287 meters long by 50 meters wide (Phillips’s vessels are 272.69 meters long by 46.2 meters wide). Level production expected BP said the three-ship order, with options for additional tankers, will be matched to BP’s Alaska production plans.
“We see a long future on the North Slope,” Drinkwater said. “We expect our net Alaska production to stay at or above the current level for another decade.” BP’s net Alaska production is currently 300,000 barrels per day.
BP said the “Alaska class” design will allow maximum flexibility for oil deliveries to West Coast ports, including BP refineries in Los Angeles and Cherry Point, Wash.
BP said the project will keep an estimated 1,000 National Steel and Shipbuilding workers employed over the life of the contract. Design development and construction will be supervised by BP Shipping Ltd.
The ships will be operated by Alaska Tanker Co. of Portland, Ore., which was formed in 1999. Alaska Tanker operates BP chartered tankers used in the Alaska North Slope trade.
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