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Sunday 05.02.2012

Another spill for BP

The spill was discovered Monday by a BP oil field operator doing a routine inspection at a drill site.

A new spill has occurred at the Prudhoe Bay oil field, says Alaska's department of environmental conservation.



The spill was discovered Monday by a BP oil field operator doing a routine inspection at a drill site. It was coming from a pipeline carrying a mixture of oil, water and natural gas, officials said.

BP spokesman Steve Rinehart said the break occurred where the production line left the well house.

"That break triggered the automatic shut-off valve of the well," he said.

The force of the release destroyed the back of the well house and blew open its front doors. When the pipe separated, it misted the surrounding area.

The DEC said about 17,000 square feet of the well's gravel pad was sprayed with oil, as well as an undetermined area of tundra.

The cause and amount of the spill were not immediately known.

Rinehart said it appears to be a small spill "because it happened and ended quickly."

BP operates Prudhoe Bay, North America's largest oil field.

Last month, one of the North Slope's biggest spills -- 46,000 gallons of oil, water and natural gas -- was reported at the Lisburne oil field, another BP-operated site. That spill occurred when an 18-inch (45 cm) pipeline split on Nov. 29.

State officials say the Nov. 29 spill was one of the worst by volume since the March 2006 spill of more than 200,000 gallons of crude at Prudhoe Bay -- the biggest spill ever on the North Slope.

BP denied allegations from prosecutors that a culture of cost-cutting was hurting the quality of maintenance on the network of pipelines at Prudhoe Bay.

"We maintain high standards of safety and operational integrity," Rinehart said when asked about the most recent spill.

BP manages the Prudhoe Bay field on behalf of itself and production partners, Exxon Mobil Corp., Conoco Phillips and Chevron USA Inc.