ANCHORAGE, AK -- May 24, 1996 -- Alyeska Pipeline Service Company reported today that a small fire occurred yesterday during maintenance activities in an empty and out of service crude oil storage tank at the Valdez Marine Terminal. The fire was extinguished by the designated fire watch personnel with a hand held fire extinguisher kept on-site.

The crude oil storage tank was taken out of service last month for cleaning, inspection and repair. As part of the repair work, internal piping is removed. The fire occurred when a cutting torch used to cut the internal piping ignited a small volume of undetected crude oil residue in the pipe. No injuries or property damage occurred. Cutting procedures have been reviewed and changed. Cutting work inside the tank will now be done with a non-sparking saw.

The Joint Pipeline Office has been notified of the incident.