trans alaska pipeline pump station 01 crude oil spill alyeska... · 2012-02-08 · trans alaska...
TRANSCRIPT
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15th Annual OSC Readiness Training Program
Trans Alaska Pipeline Pump Station 01 Crude Oil Spill
Earl Liverman, Region 10
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Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS)
• Began service in 1977
• 800 miles in length; 48 inches in diameter
• Transports average of 600,000 barrels of oil per day; 15% of Nation’s domestic oil production
• Operated by Alaska Pipeline Service Company (APSC) and used by BP, ConocoPhillips, and ExxonMobil
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Deadhorse, Alaska
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Pump Station (PS01)
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PS01 - Location of Leak
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Incident Overview• North Slope oil flows into PS01 before flowing through TAPS to the
Valdez Loading Facility.
• On 8 January 2011, a leak was detected in the Booster Pump Building basement at PS01; TAPS was shut down within one hour of discovery of leak.
• Unified command was established and consisted of EPA, BLM, Alaska Department of Environmental of Environmental Conservation, and APSC.
• A Joint Information Center was also established consisting of EPA, ADEC, and APSC
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Incident Overview(continued)
• The leak was confined to PS01 – specifically the Booster Pump Building basement.
• R10 EPA and START contractor personnel respond from Anchorage, Coeur d’Alene, Portland, and Seattle; arrived Fairbanks night of the incident and day after; FEOC staffed 24/7
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Incident Overview(continued)
• Under interim Re-Start Plan, TAPS flow resumed on 11 January 2011
• TAPS is shut down again on 15 January 2011 to install temporary bypass around the leaking segment of pipeline
• TAPS resumes normal operations on 17 January 2011
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Response Issues
• Issue No. 1: Control and Contain the Discharge
• Issue No. 2: Contamination Assessment
• Issue No. 3 Temporary Pipeline Bypasses
• Issue No. 4: Restart TAPS
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Issue No. 1- Control and Contain the Discharge
• Discharge occurred in a “dead head” to a booster pump in an inaccessible concrete vault which exacerbated corrosion potential
• An 800-gallon containment vault was constructed to contain the oil
• On-site vacuum trucks recovered about 317 barrels of oil
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Issue No. 2 - Contamination Assessment
• Frequent perimeter reconnaissance in vicinity of Booster Pump Building
• Installation of three boreholes
• Frequent inspection of pre-existing sumps and boreholes
• No surface or subsurface evidence of oil contamination
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Issue No. 3 – Temporary Pipeline Bypass
• Immediate repair of leaking pipeline not possible
• Constructed a 24-inch, 157-foot temporary aboveground bypass
• Bypass pipeline was built in Fairbanks and shipped to North Slope in nine segments
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Issue No. 4 – Restart TAPS
• Limited crude oil storage capacity on the North Slope; two bulk storage tanks at PS01
• APSC limited producers to 5% normal production rate because TAPS was shut down and limited storage capacity
• TAPS low flow concerns
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Issue No. 4 – Restart TAPS(continued)
• Avoid stuck “cleaning pigs”
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2nd Bypass Line
• Section of pipe at Pump Station 8 where a pig was trapped and the bypass line through which oil is being diverted around it
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Incident Challenges/Observations
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EPA HQ/Region insatiable appetite for information
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Leaning Forward
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Worldwide Interest
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Information Sharing
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Preparedness
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CWA 311(c) & (e) Unilateral Administrative Order for Removal Activities
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Questions?