Prudhoe Bay Refinery

BP runs the oil refinery in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. The oil field that is mined in that city is the largest in all of North America. Experts estimate that the field originally contained up to 25 billion barrels of oil. The Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), in association with Exxon first discovered the presence of oil in 1968, and began construction on a plant to retrieve and process it into various petroleum based products. It was not until 1977, after the Alaska Pipeline was completed, that the refinery officially opened. At that point the field was divided into two separate sections; one was controlled by BP and the other by ARCO. Eventually BP took over the entire operation. In 2006 the company announced that at least 2 billion barrels of oil remained in the field.

In March of 2006, workers discovered an oil spill along the line of pipes owned by BP. Upon investigation, the spill was found to contain nearly 267,000 gallons of oil, and it was caused by a hole within the pipeline. This lead to the United States Department of Transportation demanding the pipes be shut down and thoroughly investigated. Most of the piping in the Prudhoe Bay area had to be replaced, which caused a stop in the production of oil at that facility. Since the site was such a large oil producer, with a daily output level of nearly 400,000 barrels, this shut down led to oil production in the United States being temporarily lowered by up to 8%! It took until June of 2007 for the new pipeline to be completed. During this time the cost of a barrel of oil rose all over the world.

A ruptured oil line at the Prudhoe Bay facility caused a fire in August of 2007. The fire was quickly contained and put out, and no one was injured. BP has been accused of negligence and not conforming to essential safety standards, and the small fire was pointed to as an indication of what could have happened. Had fire fighting crews not been able to react so quickly, the blaze could have been much larger, more damaging and deadlier. Critics of the plant say they were very lucky that a worker was on site when the fire began, and was able to report it immediately. They also claim the plant is full of substandard conditions, and that a major disaster could strike at any time.

During its history, this plant has also dealt with another serious issue in the form of products made out of asbestos. For many years, a large array of items were created with asbestos as the key ingredient, largely because of the material's ability to hold up under tremendous heat. Unfortunately, asbestos is made up of tiny fibers that can penetrate the air and be accidentally inhaled, and these fibers can be deadly. Once breathed in, the asbestos fibers can lead to serious and sometimes lethal diseases such as Mesothelioma. Employees of the Prudhoe Bay refinery are encouraged to seek medical counsel and explain their risk of exposure to asbestos.

Last modified: December 09 2009.