BP adding worker facility at GC2

BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. is looking to expand a gravel pad at the Prudhoe Bay unit to accommodate a “blast resistant module” planned for the Gathering Center 2 facility.

The company wants to add 2.05 acres to the pad. The new module would “provide a safe location for workers to perform non-operational tasks such as training, breaks, meetings, control, and administrative tasks at the facility,” according to a recent application.

The work is scheduled to begin as early as April and run through the end of 2018.

The project involves placing 15,000 cubic yards of gravel at the site - 13,000 cubic yards to make room for the module and the remainder to improve access to the facility.

The facility would include a module and an enclosed and elevated 180-foot walkway leading to it from existing buildings. Both would be built upon 75 new piles driven into the pad. The project also requires changes to power and communications systems.

The power and communications work would occur this spring, followed by pad expansion in the second half of the year and facility construction throughout 2018.

The state Division of Oil and Gas is taking comments on the proposal through Feb. 9.

Gathering Center 2 is located on ADL 28284, in the center of the Prudhoe Bay unit.

- ERIC LIDJI