ANCHORAGE, AK - Alyeska Pipeline Service Company crews are preparing for this summer’s second and final major maintenance shutdown on the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, set to run from Saturday, Aug. 16 to Sunday, Aug. 17. The event is designed to last up to 36 hours and begins Saturday morning.

Alyeska, the pipeline operator, will complete various projects during the shutdown, including two major tasks: The installation of roughly 1,700 feet of new 48-inch mainline pipe at Pump Station 2, and replacement of a 48-inch “pig” trap valve at the Valdez Marine Terminal. The new pipe at Pump Station 2 will bypass the pump station, which has been out-of-service since 1997. The replacement valve being installed at the Valdez Marine Terminal is on the pig receiver, a pipe section used to receive cleaning and instrument pigs. A pig is a mechanical device used for routine cleaning or diagnostics on the pipeline.

During the summer’s first shutdown, from June 28-29, Alyeska and its contractors safely and successfully completed multiple jobs along the pipeline, including two significant projects. At Pump Station 9, crews disconnected piping used to operate the original pumping equipment. Pump Station 9 began operating newer, upgraded pumps in February 2007. Just outside of Fairbanks, a team replaced Remote Gate Valve 72 on the mainline pipe. Remote Gate Valve 72 is one of 177 48-inch mainline valves along the pipeline.

For further information, contact Michelle Egan, Alyeska Corporate Communications Director, at 787-8870. 

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