Pipeline Prudence: An Interview with Alfred Crouch on Pipeline Defect Detection
A few weeks ago British Petroleum, administrator and partial owner of Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay oil field, announced that recent tests had revealed corrosion in the pipeline system and shut down production. With production partly restored, BP officials say tests have shown that the corrosion is isolated and normal flow may return soon. Ultrasound tests are being made to determine how much of the shut down pipeline can be returned to service temporarily. Tempers have cooled along with the media coverage, but BP still faces a costly rebuilding project.
BP only discovered the current corrosion problems after a significant oil spill prompted a survey of the pipeline system. In March, a transit line in the North Slope system, which BP operates on behalf of itself, Conoco-Philips and Exxon Mobil, gushed 201,000 gallons of oil onto the tundra, the North Slope's largest oil spill ever. The spill brought new regulatory scrutiny and a grand jury investigation of possible criminal charges.