Reply #10: BP-owned Alaska oil pipeline shut after spill

[Ruby the Liberal]

Source: Reuters

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, May 25 (Reuters) - The Trans-Alaska Pipeline, partly owned by BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research), shut down on Tuesday after spilling several thousand barrels of crude oil, drastically cutting supply out of Alaska's oilfields.

The accident comes at a difficult time for BP -- the largest single owner of the pipeline operator, holding 47 percent -- as it struggles to plug a gushing Gulf of Mexico oil well .

The shutdown followed a series of mishaps that resulted from a scheduled fire-command system test at Pump Station 9, about 100 miles (161 km) south of Fairbanks, said Alyeska Pipeline Service Co, the operator of the 800-mile oil line.

The power outage triggered opening of relief valves, causing an unspecified volume of crude oil to overflow a storage tank into a secondary containment. There were no injuries, but the approximately 40 people at the work site were evacuated, Alyeska spokeswoman Michele Egan said.

Read more: http://in.reuters.com/article/governmentFilingsNews/idINN2514942320100526

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The hits just keep on coming.