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Article: As volumes fall, Trans-Alaska oil pipeline faces uncertain future.
- Article from:
- The Oil Daily
- Article date:
- October 2, 2009
- Author:
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The aging pipeline system that transports crude oil from Alaska's North Slope is expected to face a number of technical and economic challenges in the near future because of a steep drop in oil flows.
The volume of oil transported on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (Taps) dipped to a record low of less than 600,000 barrels per day this summer, far below its peak of just over 2 million b/d in 1988.
Experts believe the pipeline could face regular outages and sluggish flow rates if volumes fall much further in the future.
Many observers fear that dwindling supplies of Alaska North Slope (ANS) crude will make the US even more dependent on imported ...