Alyeska 36-hour shutdown June 25-26

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. completed a 36-hour major maintenance shutdown of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline June 25-26.

North Slope field operators typically schedule maintenance work around the annual pipeline shutdown and to take advantage of milder summer weather.

Both BP and ConocoPhillips had scheduled maintenance activity at fields which they operate.

ConocoPhillips Alaska spokeswoman Natalie Lowman said scheduled maintenance at the Kuparuk River Unit’s Central Processing Facility 1 was scheduled to start in late June and last approximately three weeks.

A scheduled maintenance shutdown at Alpine, Lowman said, is planned for late July and will also last about three weeks.

As reported in the June 19 issue of Petroleum News, BP’s summer maintenance, a scheduled turnaround at the Prudhoe Bay seawater treatment plant, was underway prior to the Alyeska shutdown.

Alyeska had work scheduled at Pump Station 1 and at the Valdez Marine Terminal, as well as an annual inspection and maintenance of the Pump Station 9 power substation.

- Petroleum News