Face to Face
Sara Pate
Northern Pipeline Asset Advisor
Published April 2002

What is an asset advisor?

Basically, I’m the right hand of the Northern Pipeline Asset Manager. I fill in for him and generally manage crises as they arrive. Much of my job is crisis management. I help the (pump) stations take care of issues they can’t resolve by interfacing with groups here in Fairbanks. I try to get roadblocks removed so people in the field can get their work done.

It sounds stressful. What do you like about it?

It’s a great job and very challenging. There’s always something new and unpredictable. I really enjoy working in the day-to-day operations of moving oil. I’m the type of person who can get bored easily. This job definitely keeps you from getting bored.

How did you land in the position?

I’m an engineer and served in the military doing facilities operation and maintenance. I had done a lot of environmental work and was hired on at Alyeska three and a half years ago as an environmental auditor. But operations was what I really wanted. So when this position opened up, I moved into it. That was January 2001.

Has it lived up to your expectations?

Going from audits to operations was a tremendous learning experience. Audit work is like going to school. It’s all books. Out here, you apply it, you see how things really work. I like the excitement. I like being part of getting the work done; of moving the oil.

As a relative newcomer, how do you like Fairbanks?

I lived in King Salmon for a year and in Anchorage for nine years before moving here so I’m fine with Fairbanks. It’s been a mild winter so I can’t complain!