Crews prepare to place electric cable, connect power supply for reconfigured Pump Stations

For the past year workers have been preparing Pump Stations 1, 3, 4 and 9 to receive new pumping systems and operating equipment. The project called Strategic Reconfiguration will upgrade and standardize equipment by placing new electric-motor-driven pumps at the reconfigured stations in an effort to reduce costs, improve operating efficiency, and increase pipeline safety and reliability.

With more than 250 construction personnel working at the four pump stations, crews are installing module platforms and erecting infrastructure for new operating components. Structural steel supports for pipe and cable trays are being assembled at each station. Winter work focuses on pulling more than 250 miles of electric cable to connect the symphony of electric components and modules that will power and control new pump station equipment.

In mid-January a survey team visited each pump station and began identifying underground locations where cable will be located. Some of the cable will be placed in above ground trays and other portions will be laid in the ground. Prior to trenching areas for below ground cable installation, crews used ground penetrating radar (GPR) to locate any existing cables, pipes or objects hidden beneath the surface. GPR works by sending pulses of ultra high frequency radio waves into the ground through an antenna. These waves reflect off buried objects and produce a continuous cross-sectional profile of subsurface features at construction sites without drilling, probing, or digging. These steps assure that ongoing operations will not be interrupted. When cable pulls are complete, crews will begin terminating wires and preparing the system for functional testing.

Under the new TAPS operating model, the modularized pump station design combined with increased automation and upgraded control systems, will be scalable for changes in pipeline throughput. The project will simplify operations by providing more flexibility to adjust for changing flow forecasts and by allowing those adjustments to be made more easily. When station upgrades are complete, Alyeska will be able to pump up to 1.14 million barrels per day. Volume increases can be made by adding additional pumping units at the electrified stations, using drag reducing agents to improve flow rates, and by bringing additional pump stations online. Current throughput today is just less than 900,000 barrels. Startup of the reconfigured system is expected to occur in the third and fourth quarters of 2006.