BPXA L-1 Test-Header Pipeline Leak

Location: Lisburne Production Facility, Drill Site L-1, Prudhoe Bay
Time/Date: BPXA subcontractor employees discovered a spill of methanol and produced fluids (60/40) at the Lisburne Production Facility at 03:28 a.m. on July 16, 2011. The spill was reported to the Alaska State Troopers at 04:05 a.m. Alaska State Troopers reported the spill to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation at 04:15 a.m.
Spill Id: 11399919701
Product/ Quantity: BPXA estimated 1,764 gallons of 60/40 methanol/produced fluid blend were released from the eight inch pipeline. An undetermined amount of crude oil was contained in the produced fluids. The fluids released onto the gravel pad and onto the wet-sedge tundra.
Cause: During the Lisburne Production Center annual shut-in, an eight-inch test-header pipeline, with a 100 barrel potential capacity, released in an underground section at a roadway crossing at the L-1 drill site. The pipeline failed in a structural casing sleeve, releasing fluids from each end. The pipeline failure occurred during a leak test intended to check newly-installed valves. The pipeline pressure reached 949 psi and then failed. The fluids released vertically onto the gravel drill pad and horizontally onto the tundra.