Posted on 09/08/2006 3:46:02 PM PDT by thackney
NEW YORK, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Oil major BP Plc believes the downstream segment of the shut down oil transit pipeline on the eastern side of the Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska is in good enough condition to be restarted, a BP spokesman said on Friday.
Scans of the segment of the oil transit line that connects Flow Station 1 (FS-1) on the eastern side of the field to the Trans Alaska pipeline (TAPS) have not turned up any serious problems and BP now thinks the pipeline can be restarted safely, said BP Alaska spokesman Daren Beaudo.
BP shut down half of the 400,000 barrels per day Prudhoe Bay oil field, the biggest field in North America, in August after a government-ordered inspection on the eastern transit pipeline revealed serious corrosion in a segment upstream of the FS-1 to TAPS segment.
"It's an important step in restarting the pipeline," said Beaudo. "This is all part of the steps that lead up to (the U.S. Transportation Department) making a decision whether they agree that we are gathering enough data and we know the condition of the line."
BP has not yet formally asked the U.S. Transportation Department for permission to restart the line and is continuing to work with regulators on the restart plans, Beaudo said
Under a corrective action order issued by the U.S. pipeline regulators, BP must run a corrosion sensor known as a smart pig through the pipeline. The line must be restarted and cleaned out internally before the smart pig inspection can be performed.
Sources familiar with BP's plans for the eastern half of Prudhoe Bay told Reuters last week that the company was targeting the end of September for a partial restart and BP executives said on Thursday the entire field should be restarted by the end of October.
ping
Thanks for the update. The hysterical screeching about gasoline prices going through the roof died down rather quickly, lol.
ping
"The hysterical screeching about gasoline prices going through the roof"
$2.19 here in central Iowa this am.
Some politicos have canned speeches they will continue to give for months after the climate has changed. Those who don't have to give speeches every day will file it away until the momentum shifts again.
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