Reply #12: Great article by Palast covering this subjec....

[NotGivingUp]

Unbridled capitalism at its finest!


BRITISH PETROLEUM’S “SMART PIG”
Published by Greg Palast August 8th, 2006 in Articles
The Brilliantly Profitable Timing of the Alaska Oil Pipeline Shutdown

by Greg Palastalskapipeline
For The Guardian (UK)
Tuesday, August 9, 2006

Is the Alaska Pipeline corroded? You bet it is. Has been for more than a decade. Did British Petroleum shut the pipe yesterday to turn a quick buck on its negligence, to profit off the disaster it created? Just ask the “smart pig.”

Years ago, I had the unhappy job of leading an investigation of British Petroleum’s management of the Alaska pipeline system. I was working for the Chugach villages, the Alaskan Natives who own the shoreline slimed by the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker grounding.

Even then, courageous government inspectors and pipeline workers were screaming about corrosion all through the pipeline. I say “courageous” because BP, which owns 46% of the pipe and is supposed to manage the system, had a habit of hunting down and destroying the careers of those who warn of pipeline problems.

http://www.gregpalast.com/british-petroleums-smart-pig