Prudhoe production nearly back to normal

The Associated Press

Production has been nearly restored to the Prudhoe Bay oil field where high winds the week of Oct. 9 coated electrical insulators with dirt, temporarily shutting down the United States’ largest oil field.

Production stood at more than 350,000 barrels Oct. 16 with electrical service restored to all the main oil production facilities and workers’ camps at the BP PLC-operated field in extreme northern Alaska, said BP Alaska spokesman Steve Rinehart.

Production was expected to increase to a near capacity of 400,000 barrels a day over the next few days as workers continue to clean off insulators.

“There is some follow-up work being done but most of the electrical net is restored,” Rinehart said.

The wind storms were the latest in a string of bad news coming out of Prudhoe Bay for the London-based oil giant. In August, a leak in a corroded transit pipeline forced a partial shutdown of Prudhoe Bay, while at the same time opening up the company to harsh criticism about how it is maintaining the field.

The latest shut down was weather driven. Three days of winds over 50 mph kicked up dust and dirt that caked insulators, resulting in electrical shorts Oct. 10 in the field’s power distribution system. Production fell from 350,000 barrels a day to 35,000 barrels.

Power was partially restored Oct. 11, but that went to restoring service to living quarters. BP has been working on restoring full power since.

“We are gradually ramping up and bringing facilities on line,” Rinehart said.

The insulators are routinely cleaned, but cleaning was no match for this event, he said.

“We had dust, which is not uncommon up there and pretty thick dust, but it was accompanied by the damp weather that just pasted this material on to insulators,” he said. “We had to wait until the wind stopped before we could get out and clean these things off.”