Major Alaskan Oil Field Shutting Down

Ask News ^ | 8/6/06 | mary pemberton

[grandpa jones]

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Half the oil production on Alaska's North Slope was being shut down Sunday after BP Exploration Alaska, Inc. discovered severe corrosion in a Prudhoe Bay oil transit line.

BP officials said they didn't know how long the Prudhoe Bay field would be off line. "I don't even know how long it's going to take to shut it down," said Tom Williams, BP's senior tax and royalty counsel.

Once the field is shut down, in a process expected to take day, BP said oil production will be reduced by 400,000 barrels a day. That's close to 8 percent of U.S. oil production as of May 2006 or about 2.6 percent of U.S. supply including imports, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

[grandpa jones]

Lowered output from Mexico,and war in the ME. All we need now is a hurricane in the Gulf to run prices up over $100/bbl Sheesh

[Chewbacca]

Next thing you know the environmentalists, and Democrates will be claiming the oil company shut down the pipeline on purpose to raise prices.

[MikeA]

Well, look forward to another quarter a gallon for gas. The Dems. are going to get the recession they've been praying for. Fortunately it won't show up until after the mid-terms. But the gas prices will show up well before then. This could be what costs us Congress unless Bush gets up off his ass and educates Americans as to why this happened. Since he won't, hello Speaker Pelosi. Sheesh, I give up. We can't catch a break anymore.

[mjwise]

sheesh I'm glad I'm not driving or traveling any appreciable distances for the next 8 or 9 months (of course by then things may even be worse *sigh*). Time to hunker down!

[NinoFan]

Someone at DU has already said it.

[P-Marlowe]

Lowered output from Mexico,and war in the ME. All we need now is a hurricane in the Gulf to run prices up over $100/bbl Sheesh

If you take all your money and put it into energy stocks, then you can profit from this situation.

[farlander]

What does that tag line signify, exactly ?

[saganite]

The interesting thing about oil in the US is we potentially have bigger reserves than Saudi Arabia domestically and I'm not talking about oil shale or tar sands. There is potentially 200-500 billion barrels of oil in North Dakota and Montana.

[xzins]

What does that tag line signify, exactly ?

:>)

{!}

[P-Marlowe]

What does that tag line signify, exactly ?

It is the formula for determining the inside circumference (in cubits) of a molten sea with an outside diameter of 10 cubits and a thickness of one handsbreadth.

{!}

[grandpa jones]

yeah, I saw a report on that, uhh, here, for pete's sake. :) IIRC, prices need to be stable at $60-70 to make the shale projects feasable. And, we all remember the late 70's and early 80's when all of the shale projects went belly up after the bbl price went to $18. Shale won't be a near term solution. I look for a quarter to 50 cent spike in the next couple of weeks.

[netmilsmom]

>>There is potentially 200-500 billion barrels of oil in North Dakota and Montana.<<

WHAT?
Then why aren't we tapping it?

[Westlander]

Sorry, the environmentwackos says the squirrels will be endangered. (pigeons that can't fly)

[Cold Heat]

BP officials said they didn't know how long the Prudhoe Bay field would be off line. "I don't even know how long it's going to take to shut it down," said Tom Williams, BP's senior tax and royalty counsel.

It appears they are freely offering lots of information on this.....eh???

Idiots.....

[grandpa jones]

well, BP is concerned about waging a successful PR war strategy by getting out in front, and releasing all info that they can. A perceived cover up would be doubly damaging.

[mysterio]

They had to do something to manipulate the price quickly. Commie Chavez just said he wouldn't embargo the US. Prices might have dropped on Wall Street Monday if they didn't do something quickly. All they have to do now is shut a refinery down for "maintenance" and wait for hurricane season.

[saganite]

This oil isn't shale oil although it's in a shale deposit. Confusing I know but the oil I'm talking about flows when drilled. It doesn't need to be baked to seperate it. I posted an article on it recently (linked below). The oil companies are waiting for the official govt survey to confirm it before they invest heavily in the formation. Also htere's limited pipeline capacity in the area.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1672249/posts

[conservative in nyc]

"I don't even know how long it's going to take to shut it down," said Tom Williams, BP's senior tax and royalty counsel.

It appears they are freely offering lots of information on this.....eh???

Asking a tax and royalty lawyer when an oil field will come back on line is kind of like asking a doctor for tax advice, no?

[RadioCirca1970]

They are truly DU-seased and should be put down like the rabid dogs they are...

[knarf]

"It is the formula for determining the inside circumference (in cubits) of a molten sea with an outside diameter of 10 cubits and a thickness of one handsbreadth."

Hell ... everyone knows that .... but what does it signify?