Alyeska reports April reliability

Petroleum News Alaska

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. reports April reliability at 99.88 percent, compared to a year-to-date reliability of 99.94 percent. The reliability factor is the amount of time the pipeline is operating and available to transport North Slope crude oil.

April throughput was 31,206,000 barrels, an average of 1,040,000 barrels a day. Year-to-date throughput is 127,282,000 barrels, a year-to-date daily average of 1,052,000 barrels.

Alyeska said that the north end of the pipeline was shut down briefly on April 26 after an electrical short circuit tripped a circuit breaker during preventative maintenance testing activities at Pump Station 1. The gas building was isolated and fuel was shut off to the pump station. Operators in the control center at the Valdez marine terminal immediately idled Pump Stations 3 and 4.

The circuit was reset and operations returned to normal within 15 minutes.