ANCHORAGE, AK -- December 1, 1996 -- Alyeska Pipeline Service Company announced today that soil samples from six holes drilled near the trans-Alaska pipeline in Thompson Pass on Friday and Saturday revealed no evidence of crude oil. All six were drilled in the area where evidence of hydrocarbons was detected earlier in the week. One additional hole is expected to be drilled today where the pipeline crosses the Richardson Highway at Highway Mile 20.5.

Based on the drilling results, Alyeska and the state and federal agencies have agreed to conclude the investigation into a possible crude oil release at this location. Further work at this site will be conducted by Alyeska as a part of its routine pipeline maintenance efforts. Additionally, all parties will step down from the increased level of readiness associated with the Incident Command System.

As a precaution, monitoring equipment will be installed at the site where evidence of hydrocarbons was detected. The instruments will provide additional input into Alyeska’s leak detection and environmental monitoring programs.

This investigation was initiated as a result of soil gas probe readings. The soil gas probe equipment is capable of detecting gases in soils that indicate the presence of hydrocarbons. A possible source of the readings could be an historical spill. At this time Alyeska has not conclusively identified what generated the soil gas probe readings that initiated this investigation.

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