Major Alaskan Oil Field Shutting Down

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

[thackney]

but if that section of pipeline is showing severe corrosion it calls into question the integrity of the entire line.

This is not the Main North Slope to Valdez Line but a smaller line (one of several) that brings oil from the different gathering centers to the main line.

[cherry]

it seems the general consensus around here that the Big Oil companies are all good, and should not be criticized for lessing the standard of living of so many millions and millions of people, why they bask in their billion dollar smug little profits....

of course, I think all that is bunk, that the oil companies are ruthless and could care less if our economy sinks to third world levels, as long as they are fat and happy....

I wish Reagan was alive....

[TheBattman]

Even though this represents a small percentage of our total oil consumtion, just watch gas prices shoot up even more....

There was an interesting article in today's paper. It indicated that high gasoline prices are not completely caused by the record oil prices. The article indicates that refineries have increased their "margin" by nearly 90% over just the last couple of years. Where margins usually decrease when raw materials get more explensive, the oil industry/gasoline business has gone down a different path - increasing the margin along with the increase in crude oil prices... thus dramitically elevating the cost to consumers....

[grandpa jones]

ahh, thanks for that. Officials learned Friday that data from an internal sensing device found 16 anomalies in 12 locations

[M-cubed]

"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. <<

Great line!!!..I should be paid his salary..I thought of that first!!!

[Cold Heat]

From what I can gather together, the section is three miles long and they have had some spills in various places. They have plans to replace it, and it appears it will be down until the enviro's say it is ok.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060807/D8JBAG9G0.html

[AmericaUnited]

Ok I'm pissed. Some sleeping caribou are getting tipped tonight.

[mysterio]

I think they are greedy, but they are just taking advantage of the current market forces in play right now. The internal decision makers in the companies have to know that this is not sustainable. If they don't do something to lower the prices, they will get replaced. That's what I'm hoping to see. Oil desperately needs several serious competitors.

The fact that Exxon is number one in its pension debt is also beyond disgusting. When oil goes under, that will be put off onto taxpayers.

[thackney]

Officials learned Friday that data from an internal sensing device found 16 anomalies in 12 locations

From another source:

BP's decision to close down the Prudhoe Bay field follows the analysis of data from inspections along the pipeline system in late July, which revealed 16 anomalies in 12 locations in an oil line on the eastern side of the field, BP said. BP operates 22 miles of oil transit lines at Prudhoe Bay and has inspected about 40 percent of the system.

The "internal sensing device" is a smart pig.

[staytrue]

get a wood burning stove for heat

[Cold Heat]

Margins are also related to competition in the mfg biz, not only the raw materials.

It is all moot in any case, as gas prices are determined by the market, not the refiner. They roll with the flow.

If it costs more to make it then they get for it, they eat it. Just as they did for some ten years when oil was at 10-14 $ per bl.

[Almondjoy]

I thought the stuff in ND was shale?

[greasepaint]

Republicans seem to be doing everything they can
tolose Congress.

[Fiddlstix]

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

I don't have all my money in energy stocks. Putting "all your eggs in one basket" ain't too smart.
But I do have a lot of "energy stocks" these days.
It's working out very well for me.

[Candor7]

We burn six cord of Vermont Hardwood here in Vermont each winter , been doing so for 20 years.

The Arabs and the oil companies can go straight to hell, and we would still be warm.

[Cold Heat]

Some of it is in lignite coal veins and it is more like a slurry. I have seen some samples back when I was a kid and lived in the area. Nobody can figure a good way to reclaim the stuff however.

[thackney]

A little more info at the Houston Chronicle

Major Alaskan oil field shutting down
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/business/4098446.html

[saganite]

I know this is confusing since there has been so much conversation about shale oil but the oil in ND, Mont and Canada flows when drilled unlike the oil you refer to that must be cooked out of the shale rock. Two different things entirely. Google up Bakken if you want to educate yourself. While you're at it look up the Barnett shale in Texas. It's a monster natural gas field that's coming on line. Both the Bakken and the Barnett shale can be exploited now because of improvements in technology that have only come online recently. The kicker is that now that the technology is available there will be much more oil and gas available that was believed unrecoverable just a few years ago

[Fairview]

We burn six cord of Vermont Hardwood here in Vermont each winter , been doing so for 20 years. The Arabs and the oil companies can go straight to hell, and we would still be warm.

That's fine for you, but you represent a tiny, tiny percentage of Americans. Most people do not live near a forest. Most people could not cut down six cords of wood each year. And if everybody in a country of more than 300 million tried, it wouldn't be long before we were out of wood altogether.

A lot of people are just going to go on needing oil, gas, and electricity to stay warm.

[farlander]

Um, and, what exactly is the purpose of that ? (Just curious)