Inquiry launched after pump station accident

A major investigation is under way into a Prudhoe Bay oil field incident involving a massive release of natural gas that could have destroyed Pump Station 1 of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, a federal regulator said Friday.

The company that runs the pipeline acknowledges a fire or explosion, had the gas ignited, could have imperiled the station’s 60-plus workers and caused “an extended shutdown” of oil fields that pump huge dollars into the state treasury.

The incident occurred as BP workers used a cleaning device called a pig to swab oil out of an old pipeline the company was preparing to decommission. The pipe, 34 inches in diameter, was among major Prudhoe trunk lines found in 2006 to be ravaged with corrosion due to BP’s admitted lack of proper maintenance.

BP’s workers were using pressurized natural gas to push their pig through the pipeline.

At some point, the pig got stuck and the workers “lost track of its exact location” along the pipeline, says a preliminary investigative report Alyeska prepared for regulators.

A large volume of gas then bypassed the pig somehow and rushed to Pump Station 1, a key asset through which every drop of oil coming off the North Slope must pass.

Spokespersons for BP and Alyeska on Friday acknowledged the close call.

Alaska Daily News