Corrosion causes BP oil leaks in Alaska
1 Jun 2006
BP has blamed corrosion for two major leaks on its pipelines at the company's Prudhoe Bay, Alaska oil field, which have necessitated a massive clean-up operation in the tundra region.
On 6 April, BP discovered a leak of about 12,000 cubic feet of natural gas at Prudhoe Bay, which was linked to corrosion, according to Daren Beaudo, a spokesman for BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.
External corrosion apparently created a three-inch hole in a pipeline that carries natural gas into a well to make it easier for oil to flow out, the BP Alaska spokesman confirmed.
The incident followed a more serious leak on 2 March, which resulted in a spill of around 6,000 barrels of crude oil from a pipeline with an output of 100,000 barrels daily. The company again identified pipeline corrosion as the cause of the leak, but says it was a slow leak from a quarter-inch hole at the bottom of a pipe that was hidden from direct view. It had been insufficient to trigger an alarm.
A BP spokesman in London admitted the company had been taken by surprise over the corrosion incidents, pointing out that many of the pipelines in Prudhoe were up to 30 years old. It is continuing to investigate the spills, but told PE it did not believe they indicated that major sections of the pipeline might be faulty.
"The oil cleanup (pictured) has gone extremely well with almost all (99%) of the site cleaned up to agency screening standards. Also, production is back to about 70,000 b/d through a 24-inch bypass line," Beaudo said in a written statement to PE.
BP shut down the natural gas line immediately after discovering the leak.
Alaska statute requires an immediate report when there is a release of one million cubic feet of natural gas or a leak that causes a facility shutdown, explained Jim Regg, a petroleum engineer at the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The state commission will probably get a formal notice about the leak in May when BP turns in its monthly report on gas usage, Regg said.
BP and state regulators are investigating the appearance of pooled water on a drilling pad at a separate oil field.
