BP America Retains Independent Corrosion Experts To Review Alaska Corrosion Management Program
BP America Chairman and President Bob Malone announced that he has retained three corrosion experts to independently review and make recommendations for improving the corrosion inspection, monitoring and prevention program in place at Prudhoe Bay and in other BP-operated Alaska oil fields. The members of the independent corrosion panel include Dr. Digby D. Macdonald - Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the Pennsylvania State University in University Park, Pennsylvania; Dr. Joe H. Payer - Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and past Director of the Yeager Center for Electrochemical Sciences at Case Western Reserve University and Mr. John K. Banyard - Chartered Civil Engineer and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.
This action follows the August 6 decision to halt production from the eastern side of the Prudhoe Bay field following the discovery of unexpected corrosion in an oil transit line. BP Exploration Alaska, Inc. (BPXA) halted production to avert the potential for an oil spill. Earlier in the year, an estimated 5,000 barrels leaked from a pipeline in similar service on the western side of the field.
Mr. Malone said BPXA plans to spend over $550 million (net) over the next two years on integrity management in Alaska. The company has announced plans to completely replace 16 miles of oil transit pipeline which connect the Prudhoe Bay oil field to the Trans Alaska Pipeline System. Malone also announced that he has asked former Federal District Court Judge Stanley Sporkin to undertake an independent review of all worker allegations that have been raised on the North Slope of Alaska since the acquisition of ARCO in 2000. Sporkin has agreed to serve as an independent ombudsman for BP America.
BPXA is working to return the Prudhoe Bay oil field to full production as soon as the company is confident it can be done in a safe and environmentally responsible way, according to the company.
SOURCE: BP America