Less oil may spell problems for pipeline

The declining flow of oil from Alaska’s North Slope is creating anxiety among executives who run the trans-Alaska pipeline.

Within a matter of years, they say, they will need to take costly steps to preserve the life of the 800-mile-long line.

If they aren’t successful, ice and wax could become a serious problem for the pipeline, increasing the risk of corrosion and spills.

Alyeska Pipeline Service Co.’s sense of urgency isn’t because the North Slope is running out of oil.

The Slope’s producing oil fields still contain enough oil to supply the pipeline for at least several more decades. Many other oil prospects on land and in the ocean remain unexplored.

So what’s the problem?

In the 1980s, at peak oil flows, a barrel of oil made the trip from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez in four days.

Now it takes 13 days.

The slower flow causes the temperature of the hot oil to cool faster. At some point, the oil temperature will dip below the freezing point of water along certain segments, unless Alyeska reheats the oil inside the pipe.

Anchorage Daily News