BP to Shutdown Prudhoe Bay Oil Field

BP to Shutdown Prudhoe Bay Oil Field

August 07, 2006

Company acts in response to spill, unexpected corrosion

    ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Aug. 7 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- BP
Exploration Alaska, Inc. has begun an orderly and phased
shutdown of the Prudhoe Bay oil field following the
discovery of unexpectedly severe corrosion and a small
spill from a Prudhoe Bay oil transit line.  Shutting down
the field will take days to complete.  Over time, these
actions will reduce Alaska North Slope oil production by an
estimated 400,000 barrels per day.

    (Logo: 
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000724/NYM120LOGO )

    The decision follows the receipt on Friday, August 4 of
data from a smart pig run completed in late July.  Analysis
of the data revealed 16 anomalies in 12 locations in an oil
transit line on the eastern side of the oil field. 
 
    In response to the inspection data, BP conducted follow
up inspections of anomalies where corrosion-related wall
thinning appeared to exceed BP criteria for continued
operation.  It was during these follow up inspections that
BP personnel discovered a leak and small spill estimated at
4 to 5 barrels. 

    The spill has been contained and the clean up effort is
underway. The pipeline was shutdown at 6:30 am Sunday
morning. BP has notified state and federal officials of the
decision and will work closely with the U.S. Department of
Transportation and the Alaska Department of Environmental
Conservation, among others.

    "We regret that it is necessary to take this
action and we apologize to the nation and the State of
Alaska for the adverse impacts it will cause," said BP
America Chairman and President Bob Malone.  "However,
the discovery of this leak and the unexpected results of
this most recent smart pig run have called into question
the condition of the oil transit lines at Prudhoe Bay.  We
will not resume operation of the field until we and
government regulators are satisfied that they can be
operated safely and pose no threat to the
environment."

    BP is identifying and mobilizing additional resources
from across Alaska and North America in order to speed
inspection of remaining Prudhoe Bay oil transit lines.  BP
operates 22 miles of oil transit pipeline at Prudhoe Bay. 
Smart pigging inspection has been completed over about 40
percent of that length.

    BP previously announced plans to replace a three-mile
segment of pipeline following inspections conducted after a
large spill discovered on March 2, 2006.

    For more information, please contact:

     Daren Beaudo, 
     BP Press Office 
     Anchorage
     Tel: [phone]

     Ronnie Chappell, 
     BP Press Office
     Anchorage
     Tel: [phone]

     Web: http://www.bp.com

SOURCE  BP Exploration Alaska, Inc.