Shrinking Oil Supplies Put Alaskan Pipeline at Risk

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704570704576274682119735102.html



The 800-mile-long Trans Alaska Pipeline has to keep oil relatively warm, even as outside temperatures can reach -10 Fahrenheit. Dwindling oil production in recent years means less oil has been moving through, and the temperature of the crude has been steadily dropping. This can lead to dangerous ice plugs and wax build up, which can cause corrosion.

BY RUSSELL GOLD

FAIRBANKS, Alaska—When the famed Trans Alaska Pipeline carried two million barrels of oil a day, the naturally warm crude surged 800 miles to the Port of Valdez in three days and arrived at a temperature of about 100 degrees.

Now, dwindling oil production along Alaska's northern edge means the pipeline carries less than one-third the volume it once did—and the crude takes five times as long to get to its destination.

That leisurely flow means the oil is above ground longer and more exposed to Alaska's frigid weather; the crude sometimes arrives chilled to 40 degrees. As the flow and ...

If not it will keep corroding and leaking then we need to find another way to transport.

If they shut it down it needs to be dismantled by law.

You should try to google the title and read the entire article if you are stuck at the subscription request. Very interesting.

:hi:

Climate change? Naaaaaa...

Global Climate Change: Permafrost and the Changing Arctic

http://esseacourses.strategies.org/module.php?module_id=62

Scenario: How does a railroad operate when the ground underneath is melting? Actually the question might be academic, as this railroad has long since been abandoned. The 196-mile Copper River Northwestern Railway was built in 1908 after copper was discovered in what came to be known as Alaska's Copper River Valley. The railroad has survived encroaching glaciers and earthquakes. Even when it was built, it was referred to as the "roller coaster railroad" due to the uneven settling of the railroad bed caused by melting of the permafrost beneath.

Now other Alaskan infrastructure faces threats from permafrost melting. The Trans-Alaska pipeline is in danger of shifting due to possible melting of the permafrost over which it was built. The Arctic is experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on earth. According to the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (2005), "over the next 100 years, climate change is expected to accelerate, contributing to major physical, ecological, social, and economic changes, many of which have already begun. Changes in arctic climate will also affect the rest of the world through increased global warming and rising sea levels."

What exactly is permafrost? It is frozen soil that remains at or below 0 C for at least two consecutive years. Permafrost regions occupy about 20 to 25 percent of the world's land surface, and in parts of northern Siberia, permafrost can be up to a mile (1,600 meters) thick. Permafrost can stay frozen for thousands of years. The layer of soil that sits on top of permafrost and thaws during the summer is called the "active layer."

In subarctic Sweden, the active layer has been getting thicker since 1970 and in some cases, the permafrost has disappeared. In a 2004 study reported by the GeoBiospheres Science Centre at Lund University in Sweden, it was noted that methane emissions from bogs or mires were increasing by at least 20 percent. This increase was due to the release of methane from the decomposition of plant material under wet, rather than frozen, soil conditions. Global warming and the melting of permafrost has scientists concerned about the amount of greenhouse gases that will be released into the atmosphere.

More at link...

Apparently this oil generally goes to California and Hawaii so this is bad for my state.

Let's drill ANWR so the pipeline can collapse when it's full!!!!