WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 24, 2001
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Berth 5 Back in Service This Week
Alyeska’s Berth 5 at the Valdez Marine Terminal is expected to return
to 100% crude oil loading and deballasting capability on September 25,
2001. The berth was removed from service on July 28 to undergo major
maintenance designed to create a ten-year maintenance lifecycle on
critical mechanical, piping and electrical systems.
Alyeska has operated without any impact to the West Coast energy supply
since the maintenance work began in July.
Pipeline Reliability for August
| August Reliability |
99.85% |
| 2001 Reliability |
99.86% |
| August Throughput |
29,708,000 BBLS |
| August Daily Average |
958,000 BPD |
| 2001 Throughput |
241,906,000 BBLS |
| 2001 Daily Average |
995,000 BPD |
The pipeline reliability factor is the
amount of time the pipeline is operating and available to transport North
Slope Crude oil. There were two (2) prorations during August which
impacted the reliability factor. 08/16/01 - Unscheduled pipeline shutdown
due to RGV 60 comm failure. 31,327 barrels deferred. 08/27/01 -
Unscheduled pipeline shutdown due to RGV 123 comm failure.
Pipeline Back Up After Planned Shutdown
Alyeska successfully shut down the
Trans Alaska pipeline Saturday, September 22nd to work on almost 60
maintenance tasks on the pipeline or in the Pump Stations.
Maintenance was performed on several of the mainline valves including a
valve integrity test and performance evaluation of two 48" mainline
Remote Gate Valves. Also, piping tie-ins were installed at Pump Station 5
to allow the future connection of new equipment to assist in the unlikely
event of a cold pipeline restart. Other work included the servicing of
many station valves and fittings, the performance of Regulatory required
checks of systems and valves, and additional Operator training for
abnormal operating conditions.
The shutdown, which was scheduled to last approximately 12 hours, was
extended due to unexpected occurrences during the re-starting of the line.
At Pump Station 4, crude escaped through a grease fitting on a suction
valve, causing approximately 200 gallons of crude to spill on to the pump
room floor. The crude was contained in a concrete containment pit inside
the pump house and was cleaned up before the restart.
A relief valve, designed to activate upon the possibility of
over-pressurization of the line, released crude at Pump Station 5 during
start-up. An open block valve caused the relief valve to activate,
releasing the crude on to the floor in an enclosed manifold building.
A main pump seal failed and released about 80 gallons of crude into the
pump room at Pump Station 3 during the restart. The cause of the seal
failure is under investigation.
No injuries to personnel were reported during the shutdown. All of the
crude releases were cleaned up before the pipeline was restarted at
approximately 4:00 a.m. Sunday.
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