United States: BP pipelines on ā€˜verge of collapseā€™

November 5, 2010
Issue 

A large number of BPā€™s pipelines on Alaskaā€™s North Slope are severely corroded and in danger of rupturing, an internal BP maintenance report obtained by investigative journalism group ProPublica, revealed on November 2.

The news comes less than two months after oil ceased gushing into the ocean from BPā€™s Deepwater Horizon rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

The report said at least 148 BP pipelines in the region have been given an ā€œF-rankā€ by company inspectors ā€” a grading given when more than 80% of a pipe is corroded. The pipes transport oil, gas and other toxic substances.

The November 4 Sydney Morning Herald said BP workers had described the companies infrastructure in Alaska as ā€œageingā€ and ā€œunreliableā€, with ā€œsome oil and waste holding tanks ā€¦ verging on collapseā€.

BP mechanic Marc Kovac as said: ā€œTheyā€™re going to run this out as far as they can without leaving one dollar on the tableā€, the SMH reported.

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