Trans-Alaska pipeline shut down after oil flows from pump station into containment area

Alaska pipeline oil spills into containment area

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Up to several thousand barrels of crude oil from the trans-Alaska pipeline have spilled into a massive tank and overflowed into a secondary containment area, shutting down the 800-mile line until the hazard is removed.

Some workers were evacuated following the Tuesday morning spill. But Tom DeRuyter, with the state Department of Environmental Conservation, says no one was hurt and the contamination should be limited to the gravel on top of the containment area’s liner.

The spill happened during a scheduled pipeline shutdown at a pump station near Fort Greely, about 100 miles south of Fairbanks.

Oil companies operating on Alaska’s North Slope have been ordered to reduce production to 16 percent of their regular output until pipeline operations resume.

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. spokeswoman Michele Egan says a high estimate of the spill was several thousand barrels.