Terminal Operations

Corrosion protection system for terminal’s crude oil pipes in good shape overall

Keith Boswell from National Pipeline Services observes cathodic protection system equipment at the Valdez Marine Terminal in 2019.

A recent study of operations and maintenance of Alyeska’s cathodic protection system found that the program was “very good;” however improvements are still needed.

National Pipeline Services, a consulting company that specializes in cathodic protections, conducted the study for the Council. They looked specifically at the systems that prevent corrosion in the metal piping that carries crude oil through the terminal to the large oil storage tanks.

The researchers based their report on a review of documents, procedures, testing, and results from previous inspections of those systems.

The final report summarized the systems currently in use at the terminal, as well as Alyeska’s methods for monitoring and testing the systems.

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Review of maintenance records finds improvements needed for oil storage tank

Oil spill unlikely as long as planned repairs are not delayed further Last year, COVID-19 delayed planned repairs to one of the large crude oil storage tanks at the Valdez Marine Terminal. Alyeska rescheduled those repairs for 2023. A recent Council study found that, as long as these repairs are not delayed any longer than … Read more

New buoys now streaming weather conditions from Port Valdez

Two new buoys are now in place and broadcasting weather conditions in the vicinity of the Valdez Marine Terminal. The buoys collect weather data such as temperature, wind speed, wind direction, and barometric pressure, as well as oceanographic information like surface current direction and speed, wave heights, and water temperature. This data will help improve … Read more

Piping inspections near completion

By Austin Love
Council Project Manager

For the first time since the facility’s construction was completed in 1977, a majority of the large diameter crude oil piping at Alyeska’s Valdez Marine Terminal is undergoing a comprehensive inspection, both externally and internally. The inspections of these 36 and 48 inch diameter pipes began in 2016, and will be completed by the end of 2018.

Alyeska can use the data from these inspections to evaluate the current, complete condition of the large diameter piping used to move Alaska North Slope Crude onto tanker ships at the terminal.

A tremendous amount of work by Alyeska and their contractors is making these inspections possible:

  • Concrete foundations had to be reinforced to accommodate loading stresses associated with the inspections;
  • Piping inspection tool access and retrieval points had to be created at multiple locations;
  • Sharp bends and large valves had to be removed from certain piping sections to allow for the passage of inspection equipment;
  • The piping has to be cleaned of accumulated wax and debris after 40 years of use; and
  • With the exception of a few necessary, planned pipeline shutdowns, most of this work was done while crude oil was still flowing through the pipeline and tank ships were still loading.

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