Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. executives are concerned the declining flow of oil along the 800-mile-long line could ultimately lead to corrosion and spills due to a build-up of ice and wax, the Anchorage Daily News said Saturday.
Compared to the four days it took a barrel of oil to travel along the pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, Alaska, during the 1980s, it currently takes 13 days for the same journey.
Due to the declining speed of the oil flow in the pipeline, the temperature of oil being transferred drops significantly, potentially dropping below water's freezing point.
In response to such concerns, Alyeska completed a $500 million project this year that installed new oil pumps for the pipeline.
The Daily News said the new pipelines are only designed to operate when as few as 300,000 barrels are being transported in the pipeline on a daily basis. That figure is significantly less than the estimated 700,000 barrels a day the pipeline helped transport in 2009.
Copyright 2009 by United Press International.
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