ANCHORAGE, AK. March 20, 1998. -- Alyeska Pipeline Service Company reported that the Tanker Vapor Control System at the Valdez Marine Terminal (VMT) was brought into full operation yesterday, in compliance with regulations that implement the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990. The Tanker Vapor Control System collects hydrocarbon vapors released during loading crude oil onto tankers. The vapors are used for balancing vapor volumes in crude oil storage tanks or as supplemental fuel for power generation. Excess vapors are destroyed in the vapor system incinerators. The project cost $100 million dollars to complete.

The new system was installed to reduce the emission of the hazardous air pollutants in the crude oil vapors by capturing the Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) which would otherwise be released during crude oil loading.

The VMT Tanker Vapor Control System is the most significant change to occur at the Valdez Marine Terminal since startup of the pipeline. It has affected virtually all of the facility's operations and maintenance activities including the facility's physical plant operation and administrative procedures.

Extensive training of both operations and maintenance personnel was required before bringing the new system online. Maintenance personnel were provided training on the new system equipment, particularly the specialized safety equipment such as the oxygen monitoring instrumentation and the detonation arresting system. Similarly, training was essential for Operations Control Center (OCC) personnel and berth and powerhouse operators to insure appropriate communications and coordination across all operating groups on Terminal, which is essential for successful operation of the new system.

The first tanker loaded with the new vapor collection system was the Sea River Long Beach on December 12, 1997. As a result of that successful first loading, Alyeska received U.S. Coast Guard certification for Berth 4, with permission to begin practice testing of the system on Berth 5. Coast Guard certification testing for Berth 5 was completed on February 9, 1998.

Formal certification of the entire system was received on February 27, 1998. This early commissioning of the new VMT Vapor Control System allowed Alyeska to meet the EPA compliance date of March 19, 1998.

The new vapor control system was integrated into the current crude oil storage tank Vapor Recovery System. The Vapor Recovery System provides balancing of the vapors in the Terminal's 18 crude oil storage tanks to ensure the tanks' vapors are not vented to the atmosphere when oil flows into the tanks and to keep oxygen from being drawn into the tanks during tanker loading.

The project to construct and bring the Tanker Vapor Control System on-line was completed on-time, on budget and with no lost time accidents. Construction of this project began in May 1996 and lasted through December 1997, with over 700,000 hours worked.

Media tours of the Tanker Vapor Control System are available for those interested. Please contact Tracy Green, at (907) 265-8679, or Sandy McClintock, (907) 834-7084 for more information.

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