President’s Environmental and Safety & Health Awards of Excellence

Alyeska President David Wight this week announced the winners of the 2000 President’s Environmental and Safety & Health Awards. The awards are presented each year to a group or individual for their contributions to the company in the areas of safety, health and the environment.

The President’s Safety & Health Award of Excellence was given to the team responsible for the Check Valve 74 Replacement Project. During the planned September 2000 pipeline shutdown, CV74, located on the pipeline near North Pole, was replaced because an internal sealing element was lost during normal pipeline operations. The team successfully isolated both sides of the valve using stopples to prevent crude oil and vapors from infiltrating the area between stopples. CV74 and a 34-foot section of the mainline pipe were cut out, removed and replaced. The project was completed without injuries, equipment damage, or environmental incidents. The team promoted open communications with the community by meeting with North Pole residents and homeowners with property close by to explain the project and answer questions.

The President’s Environmental Award of Excellence was awarded to Pump Station 9 near Delta Junction. During the 2000 construction season, PS9 civil maintenance personnel implemented significant stream repairs on three creeks in the Alaska Range. The projects provided three applications of a new technique for river engineering on TAPS. The technique provides a more natural stream configuration and is expected to provide reduced maintenance costs on a long-term basis by reducing the potential for future damage to the pipeline pad associated with flood events.

The Valdez Power Vapor Team also received an Exceptional Merit Award for work in fuel efficiency and reducing air emissions.

Brief Pipeline Shutdown

The pipeline was shutdown late Tuesday night for approximately 2.5 hours due to a communication failure with Remote Gate Valve 32. Technicians were immediately sent to investigate and repair the communication equipment. The system is designed to shut down when communication with an RGV is lost. The communication failure was caused by a malfunctioning battery which caused a power converter to fail. The battery and converter were replaced. Producers were pro-rated for a short time during the shut down. The pipeline was restarted at 1:12AM Wednesday morning.

Alyeska Receives 6 Governor’s Safety Awards

Alyeska, Houston NANA, J.V. and other contractors received six Governor’s 2000 Safety Awards of Excellence during the 21st Annual Alaska Governor’s Safety and Health Conference. These awards are presented to organizations throughout Alaska demonstrating superior safety performance.

The following six projects received awards for excellence in safety: The Tank 190 Inspection and Repair and M-2 Valve Replacement Projects F148 and F149; The Berth Three and Four Ballast System Liner Investigation and Repair & Berth 4 Loading Arm Replacement Projects Z169 and Z189; The TAPS Civil Maintenance Program; The TAPS Aboveground Maintenance Program; The TAPS Cooperative Corrosion Agreement Program; and The Check Valve 74 Replacement Project.

Root Cause Review

Alyeska Pipeline’s Maintenance Electrical Team at the Valdez Marine Terminal called a safety stand down Saturday, March 24th, when learning that an electrician, using a porta-band saw, cut into an energized wire while removing an abandoned conduit under Berth 4 late the previous Thursday evening. The electrician was removing the conduit because it was abandoned, and no longer required for service. All personnel on the project were wearing the proper protective gear to prevent electric shock.

The conduit was traced back, the splice point found and the wires disconnected from the berth lighting wires. A 20 amp circuit breaker for Berth 4 lighting tripped at the time. Berth 4 was taken out of service for electrical inspection. One additional (speaker wire) 24vac power limited circuit was identified and safed out. Upon re-energizing power to the Berth, a complete berth system functional checkout was completed and observed by the United States Coast Guard. Alyeska is conducting an extensive review of the incident to determine how to assure electrical isolation. The Joint Pipeline Office and the United States Coast Guard were notified of the incident.