BP isn’t exactly making the honor roll. The company is calling a recently received an “F” rating of their pipeline system in North Slope, Alaska.
BP spokesman Steve Rinehart said the rating—which reported 80% of the pipeline as corroded and in danger of rupture—was deceptive. The report—obtained by ProPublica—assigned 148 pipelines a failing grade. Rinehart says that this number refers to spotty locations along 1600 miles of pipeline, not entire pipelines. He believes the report signifies only a need for a “higher priority repair plan.”
The North Slope pipeline captured public attention in 2006 after two large spills were traced to a failure on BP’s part to regularly clean and inspect pipelines. Reinhart said BP immediately intensified its corrosion efforts following these spills. They were fined $20 million and replaced 16 miles of pipelines.
A 33-year BP employee, Marc Kovac, is one of several employees who reported safety concerns on the North Slope lines to management. Management, Kovac claims, “didn’t care.” Kovac believes BP is driven by cost rather than safety.
BP conducted 150,000 exterior and 77,000 interior pipeline inspections this year and spent millions to maintain and upgrade the North Slope lines. Rinehart says they are “active and continuing corrosion-mitigation program.”
