Ceci n'est pas une pipe

PRUDHOE BAY, located 60 miles to the west of ANWR, has been operating for over 20 years and has produced more than 10 billion barrels of oil during that time. It is among the most environmentally sensitive oil operations in the world. In fact, former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt visited the North Slope a few years back and praised as “very impressive” the operations for the job they were doing protecting the environment. (“Our premise with most resource development is that if you do it right, it ought to be possible,” Babbitt said.)
--API

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - An estimated 201,000 to 267,000 gallons of crude oil spilled in the North Slope pipeline leak discovered March 2, state officials announced Friday.

That’s significantly more than what crews have so far recovered and much larger than the previous record for the North Slope — a 38,850-gallon spill in 1989.
--Alaska oil spill

Ice roads are suitable for all conventional wheeled vehicles, from pickups to dump trucks. Ice road construction involves first compacting snow already on the tundra; the tundra is not scraped or removed. Tanker trucks apply either seawater from the ocean or freshwater from nearby lakes, chosen for minimum impact to fish, to create a firm crust.
--API

The spill covers two acres and neared a lake on the frozen tundra. “A snow and ice ramp has been built to protect sensitive areas at the lake's edge,” officials said in a press release.
--Alaska oil spill

The pipeline industry has developed a strong spill prevention ethic, and works aggressively to make sure that all pipeline operators have access to best practices and guidelines on spill and response planning and implementation.
--API

Crews have had to work in wind chill temperatures reaching 70 degrees below zero.

Workers are wearing arctic gear and took frequent breaks to guard against frostbite, slowing the recovery of crude that leaked onto the snowy tundra from a ruptured transit line, spill responders said.

"If it's too cold to work, we won't work," said Daren Beaudo, a spokesman for BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. "We're not going to jeopardize people's safety and health. We won't put them in harm's way."
--Alaska oil spill

Controllers also rely on high-tech sentinels to inspect pipelines from the inside. These computerized sensors, which resemble giant bullets, have the unlikely name of smart pigs and travel through pipelines detecting thinning caused by corrosion or damage caused by unauthorized excavation too near the pipeline. Such weaknesses could lead to broken lines in the future. The most sophisticated smart pigs contain magnetic flux or ultrasonic sensors that identify corrosion, dents, and gouges on the interior of a pipeline. Some smart pigs can change size, which facilitates their movement through different-sized pipelines and past gate valves. All pipelines built today are required to accommodate smart pigs.
--API

The plant usually processes 100,000 barrels of oil daily — slightly less than 10 percent of the daily flow through the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline. For now, a six-inch pipeline is being used for production of 5,000 barrels daily.
--Alaska oil spill