A minor fire and explosion occurred at the Ballast Water Treatment (BWT) Facility at the Valdez Marine Terminal just before noon on Friday. One employee suffered singed facial hair and minor ‘sunburn’ type burns to his face. He was evaluated and treated by the on-site medic. No other injuries occurred. There was no significant property damage.

The incident occurred as maintenance personnel were welding above a collection sump in the oily wastewater sewer system. Initial investigation showed welding slag and sparks from the welding operation ignited flammable vapors emitted from the sump hatch. A maintenance worker was preparing to extinguish the small flame when the explosion occurred. All required continuous gas test and work permits were in place during the welding operation. The Valdez Marine Terminal Fire Team responded to the alarm and provided additional support.

The trans-Alaska pipeline was shut down for approximately four and a half hours on Sunday when communications to the valves south of Pump Station 4 were lost. The problem was traced to a power supply on the valve communication control panel at Pump Station 4. The power supply was replaced and the pipeline was restarted at 3:20 p.m.

North Slope producers were asked to reduce production by 50 percent while the pipeline was shutdown. Communications to the Remote Gate Valves (RGVs) along the pipeline allow the pipeline control center in Valdez to see the status of the valves and control their movement. To ensure safe operation of the pipeline, if communication is lost to a valve for more than two minutes, the pipeline is shut down until confirmation of the valve’s status is received.