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| BP to keep oil flowing from Prudhoe Bay |
| 2006-08-12 |
| BP PLC announced it would keep one side of the Prudhoe Bay oil field open as it replaces corroded pipes, enabling it to funnel up to half its previous output and avert a larger crimp in the nation's oil supply. BP had previously said it would have to completely shut down the nation's largest oil field after discovering a leak nearly a week ago. The company said Friday it decided to continue supplying oil out of the western side of the field after reviewing 1,400 ultrasound inspections on five miles of the 22-mile pipeline and discussing the matter with federal and state regulators. BP said it will monitor the pipeline around the clock and use infrared cameras from the sky and the ground to detect small leaks. It will run a high-tech "smart pig" device through the line by November to search for weaknesses in pipe walls. "With greatly enhanced surveillance and response capability, I am confident we can continue to safely operate the line," BP America Chairman and President Bob Malone said in a statement. The company said it is currently producing about 150,000 barrels of oil and natural gas per day from the western side of the field, but hoped to reach about 200,000 barrels a day. The natural gas accounts for between 11,000 and 12,000 barrels of the total. Before the discovery of the leak, BP was pumping as much as 400,000 barrels a day out of the entire field, 8 percent of the nation's domestic output. BP also said it was looking at ways to restore some production from the eastern side of the field, subject to approval by federal regulators. The cost to repair and replace leaking pipelines at Prudhoe Bay could be about $170 million, BP spokesman Neil Chapman said. That was an early, rough estimate for the current repairs and for cleaning up a major oil spill in March. |
| Posted by:ed |
| #1 I wonder if the Smart Pig is nicnamed Arnold and if not, why not? |
| Posted by: 6 2006-08-12 11:45 |