Major Alaskan Oil Field Shutting Down

Ask News ^ | 8/6/06 | mary pemberton

[grandpa jones]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Half the oil production on Alaska's North Slope was being shut down Sunday after BP Exploration Alaska, Inc. discovered severe corrosion in a Prudhoe Bay oil transit line.

BP officials said they didn't know how long the Prudhoe Bay field would be off line. "I don't even know how long it's going to take to shut it down," said Tom Williams, BP's senior tax and royalty counsel.

Once the field is shut down, in a process expected to take day, BP said oil production will be reduced by 400,000 barrels a day. That's close to 8 percent of U.S. oil production as of May 2006 or about 2.6 percent of U.S. supply including imports, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

[Cold Heat]

I guess the next question should be, "To whom do I address this question in hopes of getting some sort of answer......prey tell?"

[Smokin' Joe]

We are. Pipeline capacity is the big bottleneck, but it takes time to drill the wells and build the production infrastructure.

[P-Marlowe]

Hell ... everyone knows that .... but what does it signify?

Full of words and music signifying nothing.

(1 Kings 7:23 KJV) And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.

[Westlander]

I thought everyone knew this.
f(x) = (x); 1/(x)

[Halfmanhalfamazing]

What, didn't you know?

It's all a big rovian plot!

8^)

[grandpa jones]

from your posted article: Brenda Pierce, a program coordinator for the USGS energy resources program, said the agency would consider the Industrial Commission's request but would not comment on it until it was actually received. She said the USGS plans to study the oil and gas resources in western North Dakota's Williston Basin in late 2007 and early 2008. Now, Pres Bush isn't in the habit of calling me for advice, but if I had his (or Karl's) ear on this, I would tell him to go on national TV, educate the public about the current supply problems on the North Slope, with a possible solution to the problem being found right here in the good ol' US of A. Then, get Dorgan, and others on board for a massive project to bring these supplies on line, asap. Course, that's just this old fart speaking, imho.

[grandpa jones]

did you forget your sarcasm tag? :)

[moonhawk]

I knew that.

[saganite]

Hello Smokin' Joe. How did I know you would turn up here? LOL!

[conservative in nyc]

I don't know why the AP quoted the lawyer. You'd think BP has some engineers who might know a thing or two about how long it takes to shut down an oilfield. Apparently, someone told them how long it would take - just look at the very next sentence in the article:

Once the field is shut down, in a process expected to take day

[xzins]

It was only a matter of time.

[Waco]

Well, an E.O. from Bush could lift ALL production restrictions on oil in the lower 48,,,right???

[saganite]

I would settle for someone in power accelerating the US Geological survey so we can find out what's there. One thing you have to understand though is that if anyone announced a find of that size in the US that's easily accessible the oil price would tank. There are a lot of interested parties who wouldn't like to see that happen, including the environmentalists.

[mysterio]

No. This issue is really making me upset. I don't really think that there is a big oil company conspiracy, but the result is the same. I know that oil will never be replaced if it is cheap, but that doesn't make dropping the equivalent of two phone bills a week any easier. Makes it tough to get ahead. Even with raises, I feel like I'm moving backwards because more of my money goes to gasoline and natural gas every year. I'm currently saving back as much as I can with the goal of getting rid of my natural gas furnace and possibly getting a car that uses a non-fossil fuel energy source.

[Royal Wulff]

Oil is trading up $1.14 to $75.90 tonight. Apparently on the news.

[Candor7]

The Sky is Falling...The Sky is Falling...The Sky is Falling...The Sky is Falling...The Sky is Falling...The Sky is Falling...The Sky is Falling...The Sky is Falling...The Sky is Falling...

Fixed in a week to ten days..Tucker snow cats,sledges and a section of replacement pipe, welders, and the job is done.

[saganite]

Not to be a party pooper but if that section of pipeline is showing severe corrosion it calls into question the integrity of the entire line. Also, I'm betting they don't have spare pipe sitting around for repairs. I'm afraid this could take longer than a few days.

[grandpa jones]

One thing you have to understand though is that if anyone announced a find of that size in the US that's easily accessible the oil price would tank. There are a lot of interested parties who wouldn't like to see that happen, including the environmentalists.

Good points. I know I'll get flamed for saying this, but I would be willing to pay $5 a gallon just to be able to tell the arabs to f*ck off.

[thackney]

see also

BP shutting down large Alaska oil field
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1678925/posts

[grandpa jones]

Fixed in a week to ten days

Hope you're right. Article didn't really indicate the scale of the corrosion problem. If it is isolated as you suggest, this could just be an opportunity for day-traders and a minor inconvenience to JQ Public.