Guess you think these "tinker toys" easy and cheap to replace?
Posted on 08/07/2006 2:56:42 PM PDT by Trident/Delta
BP began a complete shutdown of the giant Prudhoe Bay oil field Sunday after a leak onto the tundra raised new and troubling questions about dangerous corrosion of North Slope pipelines. The extraordinary shutdown will reduce the flow of all North Slope oil by 400,000 barrels a day -- nearly half the Slope's normal output -- and could rattle oil and gasoline markets. The shutdown also will crimp state tax and royalty revenue by millions of dollars a day. Shutting down the field and its roughly 1,000 wells will take days to complete, and BP executives said the field will stay down until the company can prove the pipes are safe to operate or until other pipes can be used or built to bypass bad ones. BP executives rallied early Sunday to deal with the crisis, which began after crews checking major Prudhoe Bay oil pipelines for corrosion discovered a leak that sent up to 210 gallons of crude onto the tundra. Company managers decided to shut down the entire field as a precaution and start an intense new round of inspections to see whether the pipes are safe to operate.
BP already had been under intense pressure to deal with corrosion and maintenance problems that in recent months have drawn the scrutiny of state and federal pipeline and pollution regulators, members of Congress and federal criminal investigators. The scrutiny came in the wake of a corrosion-related spill from another Prudhoe pipeline that sent an estimated 201,000 gallons of crude over about 2 acres of tundra. That spill, discovered March 2, was the largest on the Slope since oil production began there in 1977. Steve Marshall, president of BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., said Sunday this weekend's spill, coupled with an inspector's report received Friday showing that a pipeline, 30 inches in diameter, might be pocked with weak spots caused by corrosion, prompted the shutdown decision. "It's a very serious situation," he said. "We clearly, deeply regret having to take this action." The shutdown came two days after John Browne, BP's London-based chief executive, went to Prudhoe Bay to look at the spring spill site. During his Alaska visit, Browne apologized for recent company lapses, including the spill. Marshall said Alaska managers consulted Browne, who flew out of Alaska late Friday, about the shutdown, and Marshall said he personally called Gov. Frank Murkowski on Sunday to let him know it was coming. "We regret that it is necessary to take this action and we apologize to the nation and the state of Alaska for the adverse impacts it will cause," said Bob Malone, who is Marshall's boss as president of BP America. Prudhoe Bay is the country's largest single oil field, and one of the largest in the world. BP owns about 26 percent of the field and runs it on behalf of other owners including Exxon Mobil and Conoco Phillips, which each own about 36 percent.
Semper High-Test
Blair's Fault
Tell me oil companies. Tell me about how you're investing profits into your infrastructure.
I agree,
I hate to get into conspiracy-mongering. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
But doesn't it seem more than just a little coincidental that this is happening when gasoline is at an all-time high?
This whole thing seems to have a bad smell to it.
Me too. Bill O'Reilly will pitch a fit on his show tonight.
Semper Bloviate
Me too. The human mind is much more susceptible to negative ideas than to positive ones.
But doesn't it seem more than just a little coincidental that this is happening when gasoline is at an all-time high?
I don't know about that, but it doesn't make sense to me that the company has been delaying maintenance if they've been "under intense pressure" for months by state and federal regulatory bodies, as the article claims. The company loses million--or maybe even billions--of dollars if their delivery capacity breaks down. It's in their interest to do the maintenance. I wonder if we're being told the whole story yet.
I guess these systems arent "foolproof" as we always here
BP officials said the line where the leak was found was last checked in 1992, using a "pig," a device sent down the tubes to clean and assess pipeline integrity.
BP had not done a routine maintenance "pigging" on its transit lines. They didn't think it was necessary because those lines carry clean crude from which water was removed.
Steve Marshall, president of BP Alaska, said the company believed ultrasonic testing of pipeline wall thickness was an acceptable substitute on those lines.
In hindsight, he said, that has proven not to be sufficient.
I hate to get into conspiracy-mongering. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.
But doesn't it seem more than just a little coincidental that this is happening when gasoline is at an all-time high?
This whole thing seems to have a bad smell to it.
True, and to my mind this is the topic on which he's most irrational. I agree with some of his rants, as when he's on the rampage about protecting children. Mostly, though, I don't watch him any more because he's an economic illiterate, and he won't listen when anyone tries to explain how the market works.
This makes 11 threads in the past day on this topic.
BP shutting down large Alaska oil field
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1678925/posts
Posted on 08/06/2006 5:14:03 PM AKDT by mathprof
Major Alaskan Oil Field Shutting Down
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1678964/posts
Posted on 08/06/2006 7:16:56 PM AKDT by grandpa jones
BP shutting 8% of US oil output after spill
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1679046/posts
Posted on 08/07/2006 2:19:18 AM AKDT by Perdogg
32:1? Today Show's Curry Hopes for Worst in Wake of BP Shutdown
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1679095/posts
Posted on 08/07/2006 4:27:11 AM AKDT by governsleastgovernsbest
Oil Prices Rise As Market Watches Alaska-(+ 10.00 possible increase per barrel price)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1679001/posts
Posted on 08/06/2006 9:18:18 PM AKDT by Flavius
Oil Prices Spike on News of Shutdown (Prudhoe Bay field)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1679219/posts
Posted on 08/07/2006 7:30:09 AM AKDT by Ben Mugged
Energy Dept. Ready to Tap Emergency Oil
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1679274/posts
Posted on 08/07/2006 8:45:50 AM AKDT by NormsRevenge
Oil prices spike by $2 a barrel
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1679308/posts
Posted on 08/07/2006 9:37:46 AM AKDT by 300magnum
BP: Pipeline Closing May Last for Months (To Replace 73%)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1679384/posts
Posted on 08/07/2006 11:49:50 AM AKDT by beyond the sea
Fuel prices soar as BP shuts down major oil field
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1679415/posts
Posted on 08/07/2006 12:34:28 PM AKDT by Dane
I read another article or a post today that indicated this problem had a biological element to it. The pipelines aren't moving the amount of crude as designed for and thus they are beginning to get some fluid drop out in the low portions such as moisture which accumulates and doesn't get pushed on through the lines. Don't know the if this is even plausible or the process it would happen in.
Guess you think these "tinker toys" easy and cheap to replace?
"You reckon these leaks were planned 30 years ago when they built the 22 mile gathering system that is being shut in? Long range planning I'd say."
or poor upkeep? God forbid using any profit to maintain.
or poor upkeep?
The rats stymied all domestic energy production for the last 30 years, yet you know this BP shutdown will be BUSH'S FAULT.
This is a 22 mile gathering system of pipes. How will ANWR help? It wouldn't be using the same gathering lines would it? Seems it would be to far remote.
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