BP Has 2nd Pipe Break at Alaska Refinery

LONDON – British oil giant BP PLC said Monday that a second pipeline ruptured at its Alaskan refinery, a month after the company reported its largest-ever spill at an oilfield on Alaska’s Northern Slope.

Company officials could not immediately provide details on Monday about the break, or its severity.

The rupture follows a massive spill at the facility last month in a pipeline between two gathering centers. As much as 270,000 gallons (1.02 million liters) of crude spilled into the oilfield over an estimated period of five days.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is investigating last month’s spill, The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month. A Washington-based EPA spokesman Dale Kemery spokesman would not confirm whether either incident was being investigated on Monday, saying it was against agency policy to comment on such matters.

AP