Panel discusses BP's Prudhoe woes (Friday in Anchorage) ______________________
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Published: October 12, 2006
Last Modified: October 12, 2006 at 03:55 AM
ANCHORAGE -- The Alaska congressional delegation said it will hold a "listening session" on BP's Prudhoe Bay operations at 10 a.m. Friday in the Assembly Chamber of Anchorage's Loussac Library.
A panel from 10 a.m. to noon will discuss "What went wrong?" that led to oil spills, severe pipeline corrosion and the partial shutdown of the state's largest oil field in August. Panelists will be Steve Marshall, president of BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc.; Adm. Thomas J. Barrett, administrator of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration; and Kurt Fredriksson, state commissioner of environmental conservation.
A second panel from 2 to 4 p.m. will discuss "Where do we go from here?" Panelists will include Robert Malone, president of BP North America; Stanley Sporkin, ombudsman for BP North America; Kevin Hostler, president of Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which runs the trans-Alaska pipeline; Michael Menge, state commissioner of natural resources; Dennis Banks, Alaska director for The Nature Conservancy; and Barrett.
The delegation said each panelist will have five minutes to deliver an opening statement. That will be followed by a roundtable discussion.
The congressional delegation plans to attend, and the meeting is open to the public. Aaron Saunders, spokesman for Sen. Ted Stevens, said "listening sessions" are less formal than congressional hearings, with more opportunity for dialogue and back-and-forth discussion among the panelists and the delegation. |
