Tesoro Alaska is planning summer maintenance work on its pipeline that carries jet fuel, diesel and gasoline to the Port of Anchorage.
The company plans to replace 6,800 feet of the 68-mile line in the “proactive maintenance” project.
The bulk of the construction will take place in June and is expected to take about three weeks, said Steve Hansen, vice president of refining for Tesoro Alaska. The company has an oil refinery in Nikiski.
The pipeline starts at Point Possession on the northern Kenai Peninsula and travels under water in Cook Inlet and Turnagain Arm to the Port of Anchorage.
“We have a responsibility to make sure that line is always in the best condition,” Hansen said.
The pipeline carries about 1,600 to 1,800 barrels of fuel per hour, the bulk of it jet fuel, Hansen said. During construction, provisions will be made to ensure the demands of the marketplace are met, he said.
It is not unusual for companies to conduct this type of maintenance on their pipelines, said Michael Munger, executive director of the Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council.
The council is a federally mandated nonprofit organization that promotes environmentally safe marine transportation and oil facility operations on the inlet.
While refined products, such as gasoline, are easier to clean up than crude oil, the pipeline goes through an area with strong currents and tidal fluctuations, Munger said. This would make a spill in that area difficult to clean up, he said.
“Anytime a company conducts activities in that regard it’s a very proactive approach,” Munger said. “I applaud Tesoro for their approach.”
—The Associated Press
