Anchorage, Alaska - a new status report on Alaska North Slope oil leaks comes to the conclusion that the flow lines, moving of crude oil, water and natural gas from well to establishments require increased monitoring.
The report by the State Department of environmental conservation revised extracted aging infrastructure and process oil, which moves finally through the Trans Alaska pipeline unloaded its first barrel in port Valdez in 1977.
Federal regulators to monitor the Trans Alaska pipeline and other crude oil lines on the north slope. The State monitoring flow lines.
The State report was ordered by the Alaska to large overflow in 2006. One was in a State-controlled oil line leading from a processing plant.
Larry Dietrick State spill response Director, said on Thursday, the report dripping hundreds of spill reports from pinhole on leaks from more than 10,000 gallons, checks with a view to predicting future events.
The study covered hundreds of miles of pipeline in the massive oil fields, processing centers and storage tanks all components in the system-. The No. 1 culprit for leaks are said valve seals.
"But our large spill problems are all flow lines," he said because of the potential for a large spill.
Some of the flow line pipes are great - as much as 24 inches in diameter, said Dietrick. Enter the most corrosive materials on the slopes, he said the three way combination of oil, gas and water. And unlike a crude oil pipeline, the implementation of a single fluid you cannot watch for leaks 24 hours a day by a machine.
"They have an automated leak detection," he said. "Due to not run right the three phases flow meters get."
Instead you are manually checked but if an inspector only once every three days could have eyeballs you two days of spillage you before a leak is detected, he said.
Corrosion is a common cause of leaks and external corrosion was the most common cause of the failure flow lines.
The report did not detect that changes in the number of spills per year but proposed that the frequency of spills has increased more than 1,000 gallons.
The report with industry, such as fire or gas leaks not assess other risks.
The DEC is a conference sponsor examine advances in leak detection technology. The results are calculated for potential new leak detection regulations for flow lines.
DEC works sanctions for spills with the Department of law, whether statutes require update to examine.
It is a challenge for the industry and regulators alike for how to change the terms in the oil fields keep Dietrick said. If sediment in rows was created, so you can corrosion by microbes, which in the sediments of life.
The industry uses more that 2 million gallons of protective equipment per year.
"The problem is not that there is no program,", he said. "It's a challenge to keep the programs calibrated to the changing conditions."
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