BP denies it manipulated Alaska pipeline data

Oil giant says it did not mislead regulators about inspections

LONDON – BP PLC on Monday denied allegations that the oil giant manipulated data from inspections of pipelines at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, where operations were curtailed this month following a pipeline leak.

The Financial Times reported that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was probing allegations by BP workers that the company manipulated data to avoid replacing pipelines.

“We’ve been working with the DOT (Department of Transportation) and the EPA since we notified them of the original leak two weeks ago,” said Robert Wine, a BP spokesman in London.

BP would provide any information requested by the investigators, Wine said, and referred other questions to BP’s operation in Alaska.

AP