In the Field
Alyeska Operations Control Center move planned

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company plans to relocate its Operations Control Center (OCC) to Anchorage from Valdez.

“This move is part of Alyeska’s long-range strategy to upgrade control systems and consolidate the OCC at a single TAPS (Trans Alaska Pipeline System) location,” said Dan Hisey, Alyeska’s chief operating officer.

Careful study of pipeline operations showed that new communications systems and technologies allow Alyeska to best meet its business needs by moving the OCC to Anchorage.

“The original system location was based on a lack of commercial infrastructures such as telecommunications,” said Mike Joynor, Alyeska’s oil movements manager, noting the challenges of constructing TAPS in the mid-1970s. “New control and telecommunications systems have overcome geographical boundaries and allow the integration of technologies that provide improved access and sharing of data from a centralized location.”

For reasons ranging from construction costs to the proximity of work groups, it makes sense to relocate the OCC to Anchorage. The move will allow OCC personnel to work more closely with oil movements and scheduling teams that are already based in Anchorage.

Approximately 20 employees will have to relocate because of the move. Alyeska officials are still working out specific plans for the project, but the move will probably take place in 2005 or 2006, depending upon project schedules. The OCC’s exact location in Anchorage has not been determined.