A spokesman for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation says BP Exploration Alaska plans to complete cleanup of a spill at the Lisburne Production Facility drill site on Alaska’s North Slope before digging up the pipe that burst and caused it.
Tom DeRuyter says the cleanup should be completed before the ground freezes later this year.
A spill of methanol, water and crude oil estimated at 2,100 to 4,200 gallons occurred early Saturday.
The liquids were released onto a gravel pad and into a tundra pond as crews tested newly installed valves by pressurizing a section of pipe that crosses beneath a road.
A statement from BP says the spill was detected immediately.
The company says hydrostatic pressure testing is a common method for integrity testing.
