BP America to Run Pipeline at Half Capacity
British Petroleum America (BP America) has announced that its Prudhoe Bay oil field in the state of Alaska will continue to operate at half its normal capacity, translating into a hoped-for total of 150,000 barrels reaching the American market every day. Last week?s news that BP America would shut down production from America`s largest oil field following a failed safety inspection on its pipelines sent shockwaves across Wall Street, kicking the price of crude oil up 3 percent. In California, the price rose higher, as the state receives 20 percent of its energy supplies from the Alaskan pipeline.
It was expected to be some time before the pipeline could be put in use again, however, after another assessment, BP America executives in coordination with federal officials now say they will keep Prudhoe Bay`s western end in operation, after no leaks were found due to the sort of dangerous corrosion found while examining over 1,400 checkpoints on the Prudhoe Bay pipeline. The BP America western wells are pumping about 150,000 barrels per day, compared with the entire BP America field`s typical daily production of 400,000 barrels.
The president of BP America, Bob Malone, said ?The results of tests have been encouraging, and have increased our confidence in the operational integrity of this pipeline. With greatly enhanced surveillance and response capability, I am confident we can continue to safely operate the line.? Federal government approval will still be needed to re-open the line fully. The corrosion led to a minor oil spill that took some days to clean up. BP America would like to increase production at Prudhoe Bay to at least 200,000 barrels per day, after completing maintenance checks and repairs at a facility that brings together oil gathered from multiple wells.
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