Alyeska safely restarts pipeline after scheduled shutdown

Alyeska Pipeline Service Company safely restarted the Trans Alaska Pipeline System at approximately 4 p.m. Sunday, June 21, following a successful scheduled maintenance shutdown.

Teams removed three sections of pipe that connected the 48-inch mainline to older equipment no longer in use at Pump Station 3, and replaced a 62,000-pound valve used to redirect the flow of crude oil inside the pump station. Crews also tested new equipment at Pump Station 4 and enhanced leak protection on mainline valves at Pump Station 1.

“There’s nothing routine about these shutdown events,” said Mike Joynor, Sr. Vice President, Pipeline Oil Movements and Engineering. “The teams in the field and in the urban areas deserve credit for safely executing the work. I want to thank and congratulate everyone involved.”

The pipeline shut down at approximately 6 a.m. Saturday, June 20, for a scheduled 36-hour period. Due to months of planning and drawing on lessons learned from previous maintenance shutdowns, projects were completed safely and ahead of schedule. The loading of Alaska North Slope crude at the Valdez Marine Terminal was not affected by the shutdown.

Alyeska conducts line-wide shutdowns annually to allow maintenance crews time to work on projects simultaneously along the pipeline and at the terminal. These shutdowns coincide with the producers’ routine maintenance on equipment and facilities on the North Slope. A second summer maintenance shutdown is scheduled for July 18-19.  

For further information, contact Michelle Egan, Alyeska Corporate Communications Director, at 787-8870. 

For more information on Alyeska, visit the company’s website at www.alyeska-pipe.com.  

Source: Alyeska Pipeline Service Company  

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