BP says restarted BP Prudhoe Bay pipeline would add 150,000 b/d

BP says restarted BP Prudhoe Bay pipeline would add 150,000 b/d

New York (Platts)--22Sep2006

The US Department of Transportation and BP Friday said the federal agency
has approved the company's request to restart and test one of two low-pressure
pipelines in the eastern operating area of the Alaska North Slope Prudhoe Bay
Field shut since August when severe corrosion was detected in the lines.

The federal approval means BP will be able to pump oil back into the
5-mile-long Flow Station 1 line so it can be cleaned and tested and returned
to service, a BP spokesman told Platts. Initial flow will be about 150,000
b/d, with throughput eventually to rise to the pipeline's 200,000 b/d
capacity, he said.

Prudhoe Bay's eastern operating area was closed August 6 after the
discovery of the corrosion. BP is currently producing 250,000 b/d from Prudhoe
Bay's western operating area. Prudhoe Bay is the US' largest oil field.

In a statement, BP said it, along with the DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration, had determined the transit line can be
returned to service, with three of the four flow stations currently on warm
stand-by to be returned to full production.

In a separate statement, PHMSA Administrator Thomas Barrett said the
agency is requiring BP to deploy incident response personnel and cleaning and
containment equipment along the pipeline to "respond immediately to any sign
of trouble." Any problems identified during testing would result in an
immediate shutdown of the line, he said.

--Richard Rubin, richard_rubin@platts.com

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