In the Field
Reconfigured pumps at PS 9 reach one-year milestone

It has been over a year since Alyeska started moving oil at Pump Station 9 with the new equipment installed as part of Strategic Reconfiguration (SR). The SR project involves installing electrically driven crude oil pumps at four critical pump stations (1, 3, 4 and 9) combined with increased automation and upgraded control systems. PS 9 was the first station to receive new equipment.

Original plans called for all four pump stations to be reconfigured at once. Crews spent more than two years working simultaneously at each of the four pump stations, with the goal to complete the reconfigurations and put the new systems online all at once.

“When we moved to a phased implementation of SR at the pump stations, we decided to first start with PS 9,” said Jim F. Johnson, Pipeline vice president. “It was the most accessible of the pump stations, and its proximity to the commercial power grid meant that we did not have to install onsite power generation.” PS 9 uses electricity for the new equipment via commercial power from Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA). The power source at PS 3 and PS 4 will be provided by two new turbine generators located at each station.

“We learned a great deal from working with the new systems and pumps at PS 9, and we were able to take lessons learned and successfully apply them to our subsequent work at PS 3,” said Johnson. “This is a challenging project—the most significant on TAPS since pipeline construction. We continue to deal with and work through challenges as they arise, even if it means slowing the pace at times.”

During this past year, the SR pumps at PS 9 have proved to be highly reliable. The commercial power provided by GVEA has also been reliable, meeting company requirements.