ANCHORAGE - A leak from a feeder line carrying North Slope crude oil to the trans-Alaska pipeline caused a spill and triggered a shutdown of some activities at the biggest US oil field, state and oil company officials said Thursday.
The spill from the pipeline at the western part of the Prudhoe Bay oil field was discovered early Thursday morning by field operator BP Exploration (Alaska). Along with BP, major owners of the Prudhoe Bay unit are ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil.
"Right now we don't know how big of a spill we have," said Daren Beaudo, spokesman for BP Exploration (Alaska).
The affected line runs between a gathering center, which holds the crude oil produced from various drill sites, and the intake station of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, said the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
The gathering center has been shut down and the affected pipeline isolated, state officials said, and BP also shut the approximately 12 well pads that feed to the pipeline.
The gathering center, one of six such facilities on the North Slope that separates the crude oil, natural gas and water that is pumped out of wells, normally handles about 100,000 barrels of oil daily, Beaudo said.
BP said the spill has curtailed production, but Beaudo did not know the impact it would have on shipments out of Prudhoe Bay, where daily production averaged 470,000 barrels in February.
The spilled oil appears to be contained on the snow-covered tundra, which should make it easier for crews to remove, said Lynda Giguere, a spokeswoman for Alaska's environmental conservation department.
"Because it's cold, it's going to gel. That's the good news," said Giguere. "The other good news is we know how to pick that up."
REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
