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Pipeline
Operations
The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS)
transports crude oil from Alaska’s North Slope, across 800 miles of
tundra, rugged mountains and rivers to Valdez, North America’s
northernmost ice-free port. Engineers designed the pipeline to endure
and protect Alaska’s harsh environment as it traverses three mountain
ranges, three major earthquake faults and more than 500 rivers and
streams. The pipeline corridor includes more than 550 crossing areas for
caribou, moose and other wildlife.
TAPS carries approximately 15 percent of the nation’s domestic oil
production and has transported more than 15 billion barrels of crude
oil.
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company was incorporated on August 14, 1970 to
design, build, operate and maintain the pipeline, pump stations and
Valdez Marine Terminal. Alyeska also helps assure safe tanker operations
in Prince William Sound with its Ship Escort/Response Vessel System.
Alyeska personnel and contractors continually monitor and operate TAPS
to ensure that oil flows safely, efficiently and in an environmentally
sound manner. Basic information
- Maximum daily throughput — 2.136
million bbl., avg.
(With 11 pump stations operating). Rates exceeding 1,440,000 bbl./day assume drag
reduction agent (DRA) injection.
- Maximum daily throughput —
2000 (with 7 pump stations operating) —
.99 million bbl., avg. Rates exceeding 1,000,000 bbl./day assume DRA
injection
- Fuel required for all operations (fuel oil
equivalent) — 210,000 gal/day (also see fuel requirements under Pump Stations, and
Marine Terminal).
- Pressure —
- Design, maximum — 1,180 psi
- Operating, maximum — 1,180 psi
- Pump Station facilities in original design
— 12 pump stations with 4 pumps each.
- Pump Stations currently
operating — PS 1, PS 3, PS 4 and PS 9. PS 5 is still in operation
as a relief station.
Control system
- Basic function — Provides instantaneous
monitoring, control of all significant aspects of operation, and pipeline leak detection.
Operators in the Operations Control Center (OCC) at the Marine Terminal monitor the system
24 hours a day and control oil movement through the pipeline and loading of tankers.
- Computer type — Data general
MV/20000 and various PCs
- Location — Computer hardware and
controllers' consoles are located in the Operations Control Center at the Marine Terminal.
- Points monitored —
- Pipeline —
3,047 Input points
352 Control points
- Marine Terminal —
1,074 Input points
461 Control points
- Remote data acquisition units —
- Pipeline — 14 (each Pump Station, plus
the North Pole Metering facility and Petro Star Refinery)
- Marine Terminal — 24
- Metering — 14
- Software programming functions —
- Data acquisition and control
- Alarm and data processing and display
- Hydraulic modeling
- Leak detection
- Historical archiving and reporting
- Seismic evaluation
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