The Observer, January 2006
Alyeska Viewpoint
Focus will be on safety and system reconfiguration
I’m very excited about my return to Alaska and the opportunity to serve as Alyeska’s President and CEO. I’ve spent the last 10-15 years in executive management roles within BP working in a wide variety of locations from Wych Farm in England to the North Sea to Columbia and the Gulf of Mexico. From this experience I’ve learned the importance of people to the ultimate success of a company. I’ve also incorporated a respect for safe operations and environmental performance. I’ve learned the tremendous importance of the relationship between a company and the stakeholders who have an interest in the company. I raise these issues with you to give you some sense of how I’m going to approach running this great company. It’s my goal to bring a level of transparency to the decisions we’ll make as a business.
Since my arrival on TAPS, I’ve traveled to all of the pump stations, Fairbanks and Valdez several times. My goal was to get to know the people who run TAPS and to find out what issues and challenges they’re facing in their daily work. This will continue.
I’m taking time to learn the issues of interest to our various stakeholders, including the citizens’ council. We’ll meet regularly to discuss the issues we’re facing and provide insight into the decisions Alyeska is making about how we’re approaching the business in Valdez. And, in my limited time here, I know there is a lot of interest in the issues and challenges that we face.
As Alyeska moves into 2006, we’re going to focus on a few key priorities. First and foremost is our commitment to safe operations. I’ve challenged our company to get to best in class performance on safety – especially when compared with our industry peers in Alaska. This is a core value to me and I know it’s a core value throughout TAPS.
We’re also going to spend a lot of time and energy ensuring we have a successful transition to the reconfigured pipeline. This has been a major project for the organization and is the right investment for the next 30 years of operation. We will also continue our analysis of how we’re conducting business in Valdez. I’ll use this column and my discussions with the leadership of the citizens’ council to share information through the year.
I’m very enthusiastic about Alyeska. We run a very safe and reliable pipeline, terminal, and tanker escort system. We understand the importance of our business to Alaskans and the wide spectrum of issues we face.
• Kevin Hostler took over as president and chief executive officer of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company on Oct. 1.