At a press conference earlier this week in Anchorage, Alaska, Bob Malone, chairman and president of BP America (www.bp.com), issued a formal statement regarding BP’s strategy for its Prudhoe Bay operation following the company’s decision to shut the oilfield down due to unexpectedly severe corrosion in some of its oil transit lines. The following is the statement in full:
“We deeply regret that it has been necessary to take this drastic action of an orderly and planned shutdown of the Prudhoe Bay oil field.
“On behalf of the BP Group, I apologize for the impact it is having on the nation and the State of Alaska.
“We will be working with State and Federal regulators on plans for the orderly and planned shutdown of Prudhoe Bay. I would like to thank the State of Alaska, Department of Transportation and Alyeska for their current and longer term support.
“In addition, we will be conducting a parallel study with the agencies to determine if it is possible to safely continue operating portions of the field.
“BP has committed the human and financial resources to complete all of this work as safely and quickly as possible.
“We have now taken the decision to replace the main oil transit lines at Prudhoe Bay. This will be accomplished as part of our overall plan for ensuring the integrity of the field.
“Our priorities moving forward are to assure the safety and integrity of our operating infrastructure, minimize impact on the environment, continue the cooperative working relationship with the relevant agencies and restore production as soon as it is safely – and I reinforce safely – possible.”
For more on BP’s Prudhoe Bay shutdown, see "BP Shutting Down Prudhoe Bay Oilfield."
