Anchorage, AK – Alyeska Pipeline Service Company will complete a series of line wide maintenance projects during the second of two scheduled summer pipeline shutdowns. Work during the second shutdown will begin at 6:00 a.m. Monday, August 16th.

Oil will stop flowing through the trans-Alaska pipeline for approximately 30 hours while maintenance crews work on projects along the pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to the marine terminal in Valdez. A major piece of work slated for the shutdown centers around preparing Pump Stations 1 and 3 for the installation of electrically driven pumps that will be installed as part of the new Strategic Reconfiguration process Alyeska is implementing to more efficiently move oil from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.

The scope of work for this shutdown also includes a myriad of tasks ranging from replacement of a pig trap valve to performing maintenance and tests on selected Remote Gate Valves.

Alyeska conducts line wide shutdowns nearly every year to allow crews to work on projects in various locations simultaneously along the pipeline.

The shutdown is scheduled to coincide with the oil producers’ routine maintenance on equipment and facilities on the North Slope. Loading and delivery of North Slope crude oil should not be affected by the shutdown. The pipeline is expected to be restarted by 12 p.m. on Tuesday, August 17th.