The Trans Alaska Pipeline remains shut down following a spill at a pump station yesterday. Up to several thousand barrels of oil are estimated to have overflowed from a storage tank, into a lined containment area at the Pump Station 9 near Delta Junction. State Department of Environmental Conservation on scene coordinator Tom DeRuyter says the overflow has slowed to a weep, and the spill has not caused any environmental damage.
Eagan says problems resulted when the auxiliary power failed, while testing a fire suppression system during a planned shut down. DeRuyter says the lack of power prevented tank oil level monitoring, which contributed to the overflow. North Slope production has been reduced to 16 percent of normal and oil is being cached in upstream storage tanks. Eagan says that can be sustained through midday Thursday, after which throughput would have to be ratcheted down even further if the shutdown has to be extended.
Photo courtesy of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company
Dan Bross, KUAC – Fairbanks
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