Probation hearing for BP Alaska put off

Federal judge sets new court date of Nov. 29, allowing company and government extra time to prepare for multiday proceeding

Wesley Loy

For Petroleum News

An evidentiary hearing on whether BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. violated its federal criminal probation has been delayed again.

The hearing scheduled for Oct. 11 is now set for Nov. 29 before U.S. District Judge Ralph R. Beistline of Anchorage.

The hearing had been delayed a couple of times previously.

Lawyers for BP requested this latest delay, and federal prosecutors did not oppose it.

BP Alaska was put on probation for three years after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor violation of the Clean Water Act in connection with a major pipeline leak in 2006 in the Prudhoe Bay oil field.

Near the end of the probationary period, in November 2010, the company’s probation officer, Mary Frances Barnes, petitioned the court to revoke BP’s probation due to violations.

The alleged violations center on a November 2009 incident when a pipeline carrying oil, natural gas and water from wells to the Lisburne Production Center ruptured, discharging about 13,000 gallons of liquid onto the tundra.

The Lisburne field is a Prudhoe Bay satellite.

Ice or hydrates formed and expanded inside the 18-inch line, causing overpressure and a rupture, Barnes said.

BP failed to follow preventative measures and failed to respond to persistent warning alarms, constituting criminal negligence, she said.

BP has denied violating its probation. If found in violation, the company could face more probation and fines.

The evidentiary hearing is expected to last three to five days. Both sides are making extensive preparations, having conducted fieldwork on the North Slope.

More time was needed to “complete scientific and expert witness work related to the Clean Water Act jurisdiction issue that is presented in this matter,” said BP’s Sept. 13 motion to reschedule the probation hearing.

“Because of the short summer season on the North Slope and the need for both parties to collect soil, water, and other samples at different times during the summer, it has been difficult to complete all the necessary field work as quickly as was contemplated,” the motion said.

In a February court filing, prosecutors said the government would monitor “hydrological flow” at the Lisburne spill site as part of its North Slope evidence collection.