tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post8882334550965957009..comments2024-03-27T21:44:21.033-05:00Comments on Bit Tooth Energy: The Alaskan Pipeline stoppageHeading Outhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01790783659594652657noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-1022156870847437242011-01-12T13:27:10.594-06:002011-01-12T13:27:10.594-06:00KLR - nice post!KLR - nice post!Heading Outhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01790783659594652657noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-14003888643917996132011-01-12T10:26:00.824-06:002011-01-12T10:26:00.824-06:00Rule of thumb for pipelines is that they can be tu...Rule of thumb for pipelines is that they can be turned down to 10% of design capacity -- which would suggest a limit of around 200,000 BOPD for TAPS. Because of the extreme conditions, it seems that TAPS will run into problems at rates well above that.<br /><br />This highlights an interesting challenge relating to infrastructure -- one that is a serious emerging issue in the North Sea as well on the North Slope. When major trunk lines are shut down, any remaining oil in the fields which fed the pipeline becomes stranded. Further exploration and development becomes futile; there is no way to get the production from modest discoveries to market.<br /><br />As a practical example, production from ANWR on the North Slope would also yield more oil from Prudhoe Bay and other North Slope fields, by allowing the TAPS line to stay above its operating limit for a longer period of time. <br /><br />Continued exploration is thus a key contributor to maximizing efficiency.Kinuachdrachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13275320683766290581noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5251183560375528307.post-89476823370834230392011-01-11T21:16:05.210-06:002011-01-11T21:16:05.210-06:00I posted about this a bit myself, some of the info...I <a href="http://hydrocarbonwatch.blogspot.com/2011/01/taps-shutdown.html" rel="nofollow">posted about this</a> a bit myself, some of the info may be of interest. The "What is TAPS" site is very nice. <a href="http://peakoil.com/forums/post1032903.html#p1032903" rel="nofollow">peakoil.com member Bratticus</a> provided some handy Google Earth + Maps links, if you want to eyeball PS 1. <br /><br />I was curious about how long things shut down in 2006, and wondered if this being winter might exacerbate problems, and to what degree. Looks like they're going to fire 'er up, at least for a day: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/business/12pipeline.html?src=busln" rel="nofollow">Oil Pipeline in Alaska Has Plan to Restart</a> (NYT).KLRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00691172491186270514noreply@blogger.com