Alyeska schedules short shutdowns

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. said Oct. 23 that a scheduled shutdown Oct. 21 to test new and existing equipment as a part of its strategic reconfiguration will be followed by another short shutdown Oct. 26, with as many as four additional shutdowns planned, each expected to last approximately three and a half hours.

Alyeska’s strategic reconfiguration is a modernization project to reduce infrastructure and simplify operations and maintenance by electrifying and automating control systems at Pump Stations 1, 3, 4 and 9.

The shutdowns are in preparation for the startup of the new system.

Alyeska spokesman Mike Heatwole said the company is “testing our control system so it will be ready to go when we start up our first station” under strategic reconfiguration.

Pump Station 9 will be the first, Heatwole said, and the current plan is to start it up in early December. He said Alyeska “will run it under the new configuration for a couple of months and apply any lessons learned” on the remaining stations in 2007.

During the Oct. 21 shutdown workers evaluated Alyeska’s safety, integrity, pressure, protection system and remote gate valve control functions between Pump Stations 4 and 8. Alyeska said this equipment works in concert to help promote communications between the valves and the operations control center.

There are 178 valves on the trans-Alaska pipeline system controlling flow through the 48-inch mainline pipe. Most of the valves are environmental safeguards ensuring safe operating and limiting the potential size of spills.

—Kristen Nelson