Small Hole Discovered in Ballast Water Piping for Berth 3

A further inspection on the shore portion of the ballast water pipe associated with Berth 3 of the Valdez Marine Terminal has discovered a hole in the pipe wall, and ballast water has apparently leaked into the ground. The inspection followed the discovery two weeks ago of a cracked liner inside the pipe, which increased the possibility of corrosion. The inspection was part of Alyeska’s ongoing corrosion monitoring program.

The 42-inch pipe carries ballast water, a mixture of water and crude oil, from tankers at the berth to the Ballast Water Treatment facility. The hole is approximately one inch in diameter, and is located on a section of the pipe that is buried. It is unknown at this time how much oily water may have leaked. Crude oil makes up about one percent of ballast water. 

Alyeska is developing a plan to remedy the problem, which may include excavation of portions of the ballast water pipe. An inspection of the ballast water piping at Berth 4 was begun this week to determine if there are any corrosion issues there.

Alyeska is focused on completing routine maintenance on Berth 4 so that operations there can resume as scheduled in late August. Several maintenance projects are being completed, including the replacement of crude oil loading arms. The shutdown of Berth 3 and 4 is not affecting tanker loading at this time because Berths 1 and 5 remain operational.

All appropriate regulatory agencies have been notified of the corrosion and the leak in the piping.

Oil/water Spill Contained and Cleaned Up Near West Fire Building in Valdez

A shut valve on the industrial waste water system (IWW) caused rainwater to back up and overflow through a manhole near the West Fire Water building at the Valdez Marine Terminal. The overflow caused about 1000 gallons of oily water to spill onto the ground around the manhole. Alyeska personnel estimate that about 3 gallons of crude oil was in the water overflow. The event occurred in the evening on Wednesday, August 2nd. An Alyeska employee discovered it during routine rounds in the area.

Once the source of the oil was identified, corrective measures were undertaken and the spill was stopped immediately. A spill response team immediately started containment and clean up. Sorbents and a vac truck were used for the initial cleanup. The contributing factors are under investigation.

July Reliability                               100%.
2000 Reliability                              99.96%
July Throughput:                            29,023,000 BBLS
July Daily Average:                        936,200 BPD
2000 Throughput:                          215,733,000 BBLS
2000 Daily Average:                      1,013,000 MBPD

June Reliability:                            100%
2000 Reliability:                            99.96%
June Throughput:                          28,530,000 BBLS.
June Daily Average:                      951,000 BPD.
2000 Throughput:                         186,710,000 BBLS.
2000 Daily Average:                     1,026,000 MBPD.

The pipeline "reliability factor" is the amount of time the pipeline is operating and available to transport North Slope Crude oil. There were NO prorations of production during June or July.

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