Terminal snow removal

Winter weather has walloped Prince William Sound in Southcentral Alaska, and Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. said Jan. 10 that crews at the Valdez Marine Terminal are moving mountains of snow off essential facilities and infrastructure to keep oil flowing.

Valdez is fabled for “epic weather,” Alyeska noted in a press release, and said its snow removal responsibilities are growing. Warm oil in the terminal’s crude oil tanks once caused snow to melt off the roofs, but with declining throughput, “oil moves slower and is colder on reaching Valdez, and this winter Alyeska is managing unprecedented snow loads,” the company said.

Because of the danger of sparks from snow-removing power tools, crews manage snow removal by hand. Alyeska said it takes a team of 10 a week on average to shovel one tank roof, each about an acre in size.

Snow removal crews must also clear and protect cable trays, vapor piping and other buildings.

Houston Contracting Co. has about 50 employees on the job removing snow, Alyeska said, and they “undergo training and must wear appropriate safety gear, like arctic clothes, steel toe boots and harnesses.”

In past winters breaks between snowfalls have given teams a chance to get caught up, but storms have come in quick succession this winter, with Jan. 9 the first snowless day since Dec. 10 and total accumulation so far in Valdez this winter of more than 290 inches.

—Petroleum News