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Alyeska plans 36-hour pipeline shutdown
KRISTEN NELSON For Petroleum News
Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. has a 36-hour maintenance shutdown planned for the trans-Alaska oil pipeline and the Valdez Marine Terminal June 24-25.
In a June 13 statement the company, which operates the pipeline for the owners, primarily BP Pipelines (Alaska), ConocoPhillips Transportation Alaska and ExxonMobil Pipeline Co., said Alyeska employees and contractors will complete projects at various locations along the 800-mile pipeline, from Pump Station 1 in Prudhoe Bay to the Valdez Marine Terminal.
Planned maintenance shutdowns of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline in summer are normal.
“Reliable TAPS operations are critical to the Alaska economy,” Tom Barrett, Alyeska president, said in a statement. “Major maintenance shutdowns help us sustain our commitment to operating TAPS reliably and safely which protecting Alaska’s environment.”
Work planned during the shutdown includes:
•Modification of piping at Pump Station 1 to use new above-ground path for suction, discharge and mainline pumps;
•Isolation of below-ground piping at the Valdez Marine Terminal for internal integrity inspection using new technology; and
•Annual inspection and maintenance of the Pump Station 9 power substation.
Other work planned Alyeska said it has other project and major maintenance work planned for the upcoming months that will take place during short-duration shutdowns lasting between six and 10 hours.
Regular pipeline system shutdowns are conducted so that Alyeska can perform maintenance projects that can only be done while the pipeline is not in its regular operating state, the company said, allowing crews time to work on projects simultaneously along the pipeline and at the Valdez Marine Terminal.
North Slope work North Slope operators regularly do planned maintenance in the summer in conjunction with the pipeline shutdown and to take advantage of warmer weather.
For example, BP’s summer maintenance schedule is already underway, company spokeswoman Dawn Patience told Petroleum News in a June 15 email.
She said the company has one scheduled turnaround at its Prudhoe Bay facilities this summer at the seawater treatment plant, with work “focused on facility maintenance, vessel repairs and other improvement projects.”
Summer maintenance is planned to take advantage of milder weather and other temporary facility or pipeline shutdowns to allow workers to safely work around equipment, she said.
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