Alaska fines BP $300,000 over pipeline leak systems
Date: 06-Jun-02
Country: USA
Author: Yereth Rosen
BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc., operator of the field, did not meet the state standard of detecting any leak as small as 1 percent of daily volume, department officials said.
The fine was part of a compliance order that calls for improved pipeline-leak detection at Prudhoe Bay, the nation's largest oil field. Under the agreement with BP, DEC said, half the fine will be suspended if the company's Prudhoe pipelines meet the state standard by December.
"This agreement requires BP to make reliable pipeline leak detection a priority. Installation and testing of leak detection systems for BP's Prudhoe Bay crude oil transmission pipelines were seriously behind schedule to meet the 1 percent leak detection standard," DEC commissioner Michele Brown said in a prepared statement. "The Compliance Order established a firm schedule for completion."
BP had disputed the department's interpretation of the standard, claiming the 1 percent level applied to the total for all transmission lines, not each individual line. DEC said. Under the settlement, BP accepts the state's interpretation of the regulation, said Jeff Mach, DEC's oil and gas coordinator.
The 1 percent standard applies only to major transmission lines, not to smaller pipelines from gathering and processing sites, Mach said. There have been no undetected spills from these major transmission lines, he said.
BP is satisfied with the case's outcome, said company spokesman Ronnie Chappell. "We're pleased to have reached this agreement and are working to install a leak detection system that would satisfy the state before year-end," Chappell said.
Mach said the compliance order was signed by state officials last week.
