The 800-mile pipeline ships 12 percent of the domestic oil supply.
A reason for the increased corrosion is limited use. Oil began flowing through the 48-inch diameter pipeline in 1977. At its peak, the pipeline carried 2.1 million barrels per day.
Capacity has dropped starting in the late 1980's. According to Alyeska Pipeline Service data, between 2000 and 2010, total annual capacity has dropped 38 percent. Today the pipeline operates at less than one-third of the 2.1 million barrels per day that flowed soon after it was built.
The decrease in oil flow is accompanied by a drop in crude oil temperatures, which leads to corrosion. The lower temperatures also create the risk that the water mixed with crude oil may freeze in case the pipeline needs to be temporarily shut down.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
TransAlaska Pipeline: Corroded and A Severe Safety Issue -- Agency
The pipeline is corroded due partly to decreased capacity.
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I wonder what the intended life span was for this pipeline and how old is it?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Wikipedia, it was built between 1974 and 1977. One of many high points in my life was seeing the beginning of the pipeline at Prudhoe Bay in another life, as they say.
ReplyDeleteFilled to capacity, and with good maintenance, the corrosion would be managed and, I assume, last as long as there was enough oil to keep it viable.
Based on what I am reading, the pipeline may be shut down sooner than expected, due to reasons directly related to less drilling in Alaska.
There are some areas in Alaska that are currently off limits to drilling. If those areas are ever opened up to drilling, I don't know if the Trans-Alaska Pipeline would be used to ship that oil, but it would be quite an irony if the US ever neded that oil and the pipeline was no longer capable of moving oil. The Saudis couldn't write a better script.