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Gold/Mining/Energy : Big Dog's Boom Boom Room
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To: energyplay who wrote (68722)8/7/2006 2:28:36 AM
From: Snowshoe  Read Replies (2) of 206092
 
It could be really dicy to run the Trans-Alaska Pipeline at such a low capacity. The worst-case scenario is that it has to be shut down entirely and the oil, um, well, congeals. Not sure if they have a procedure for a cold re-start. Normal maintenance shutdowns are kept to a maximum of three days, so the oil remains warm.

As Prudhoe peaked in the 90s and TAPS capacity dropped from 2 mmbd to 1 mmbd, they gradually took some of the pump stations off line. With the declining flow, a major vibration problem developed at Thompson Pass near Valdez where the oil in the line goes gurgling downhill. The pipeline developed something like harmonic tremors, which were so bad that a nearby tourist lodge had to shut down and be bought out by Alyeska Pipeline Service. I wonder how this section of the pipeline will behave if the flow is cut in half again?

I think Thompson Pass is the highest point on the pipeline. I bicycled over it once, and coasted for seven miles toward Valdez.
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