Alaska pipeline corroded more than BP claimed

November 1st, 2006

Anchorage, Alaska - BP PLC, which closed a leaky crude oil pipeline in Alaska, says a close survey of the line indicates vastly more serious problems than initially claimed.

BP PLC, which closed a leaky crude oil pipeline in Alaska, says a close survey of the line indicates vastly more serious problems than initially thought.

When the British company first shut down part of the pipeline that connects Prudhoe Bay field to markets because of the oil leak, it said there were 16 "anomalies," or highly corroded places, in the pipeline, the Anchorage Daily News reported Tuesday.

But after running a sophisticated analytical device through three miles of suspect pipeline it appears there are 5,476 potential bad spots, including 176 places where corrosion might have chewed through 50 percent or more of the pipeline wall, the company said.

The pipeline leak that first triggered the investigation resulted in an estimated 201,000 gallons of crude oil spilling onto the tundra -- the largest oil spill ever in the North Slope oil fields.