According to Alyeska President and CEO David Wight, eliminating duplication between the three offices and centralizing functions improves the company's overall operations as well as helps to control costs. "Streamlining the organization is part of redesigning Alyeska, to manage current North Slope throughput levels. This company realignment will position Alyeska to be more competitive now and into the future," Wight said. "The new organization is better structured to support operations at the Valdez Marine Terminal and along the pipeline."

Of the 150 positions being eliminated from the company, about 50 are from Valdez, 60 from Fairbanks and 40 from Anchorage. The company will also relocate a number of positions to Anchorage and Fairbanks to provide the centralized support functions. The impact to the communities won't be known until the staff selection process is complete and the number of positions to be transferred is determined. In addition to employees, Alyeska will reduce contractor support throughout the organization by about 150 positions over the coming months.

The company will be particularly attentive to any impacts to system maintenance. "The budget for maintenance projects will not change," Wight said. "We will adjust how we organize our maintenance program but not diminish in any way our commitment to pipeline integrity, safety and maintenance."