Pump Station Electrification Underway

Alyeska recently received approval to start modernizing the pump stations of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). The biggest piece of the $250 million project is pump station electrification, which will automate many pipeline operations to decrease operating costs and environmental impact.

“The most difficult part of this whole project is stakeholder alignment,” said Ian Livett, Alyeska’s pump station electrification project manager. “People care very much about the pipeline and this project and they want to know that we’re doing it correctly.

“We’re working very hard to ensure people know how TAPS will maintain its high reliability and technical integrity. The pipeline will continue to be operated safely and in an environmentally sound manner after electrification,” said Livett.

SNC-Lavalin is managing the project’s engineering, procurement and construction. Alyeska evaluated numerous firms in and outside Alaska and selected this engineering company because its significant recent experience designing similar facilities best qualified it for TAPS’ electrification project.

“Most of the project construction and module fabrication will be done by qualified Alaska contractors after a competitive bidding process,” said Livett. “We expect that Alaska companies will fabricate the majority of the 50-plus truckable modules that will be required at pump stations 1, 3, 4, 9 and Relief Station 5.”

Alaska suppliers and contractors will also contribute to the major modifications that will be required for existing pump station buildings.

“The beauty of this reconfiguration design is that it is extremely scalable so that TAPS will be able to more efficiently accommodate future increases or decreases of throughput,” said Livett. Under the reconfigured system, Alyeska is optimizing its operations by configuring the pipeline to pump up to 1.14 million barrels per day. Alyeska will be able to increase capacity by adding additional pumping units at the electrified stations, using drag reducing agents to improve flow rates, and by bringing additional pump stations online.

“The new design leaves space to install additional units if they are needed,” said Livett. “We will be able to increase TAPS’ ability to move more oil much more quickly than a major new oil field could be brought into production.”

Livett said the electrified pump stations will be less expensive to operate because they will be fully automated and standardized to the greatest extent possible.

“All of the pumps, motors, variable frequency drives, control systems and panels will be identical at each station, to reduce the variety of components that we have to stock and learn how to operate and maintain,” said Livett.

Livett said that if the project stays on schedule, he anticipates starting some construction work this year. “Our goal is to have the new pump stations electrified and fully automated before the end of 2005,“ Livett said.