Trans-Alaska pipeline operator misses goal but still optimistic to restart oil line Friday

AK pipeline co. still hopeful for Friday restart

JUNEAU, Alaska — The operator of the trans-Alaska pipeline system missed its goal of getting oil flowing again by noon Friday and was still working with federal regulators to win approval to restart the 800-mile line after a spill this week.

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. remained optimistic that the go-ahead would come later in the day.

The line’s been down since Tuesday, when Alyeska said a power failure during a planned shutdown allowed several thousand barrels of oil to spill into a partially filled storage tank. The tank, in turn, overflowed into a containment yard.

Spokeswoman Michelle Egan said the shutdown became the pipeline’s longest in at least a decade, surpassing the more than 66 hours it was down in November 2002 due to an earthquake.

Alyeska had ordered production levels drastically cut — eventually to 8 percent of normal output — to keep from filling storage facilities before the line could be restarted safely. The company estimated this bought it time until noon Friday, but spokeswoman Michelle Egan said it had a “little margin” and didn’t anticipate immediate further cutbacks as the pipeline remained idled.

Alyeska is ready to start up, Egan said, but is working with the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to address its questions and concerns. The agency issued a corrective action order to Alyeska late Thursday seeking documentation and other details surrounding its plans to restart.

Damon Hill, a spokesman for the agency, described the letter as routine for these types of incidents.

The letter requires certain actions surrounding the restart and mandates monitoring of and reporting on the spill area after the line is back up. An agency official, in issuing the order, found that a failure to require such steps, in light of factors such as the hazardous nature of oil, the age of the infrastructure and investigations into the cause, “would result in likely serious harm to life, property and the environment.”

Both the pipeline agency and the state Department of Environmental Conservation are investigating the cause of the spill.

The trans-Alaska pipeline carries oil from the state’s North Slope to Valdez, where tankers pick it up and deliver it to refineries. Last month, the pipeline moved 645,113 barrels of oil per day, on average. Average crude oil production in the U.S. is about 5.5 million barrels a day.

Tom DeRuyter, an on-scene coordinator for the Department of Environmental Conservation, said the company’s latest estimate for the spill volume was between 4,975 barrels and 5,060 barrels.

The system is owned by a consortium of companies. The largest, with a nearly 47 percent stake, is BP Pipelines (Alaska) Inc. Its parent company, BP PLC, has been dealing with the massive oil slick that resulted when a rig it leased in the Gulf of Mexico exploded last month, and BP’s work in Alaska has drawn attention since 2006 when 200,000 gallons of oil spilled at Prudhoe Bay.

The other major owners of the pipeline are subsidiaries of the North Slope’s other main players, Exxon Mobil Corp. and ConocoPhillips.