Arctic spill fix elusive BP fails in three Northstar tests

By Ben Spiess Daily News Reporter

(Published October 15, 2000) Just over a year from now, BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. plans to begin producing oil from its Northstar field off the Arctic coast.

But in the past year, the company has failed three oil spill cleanup trials required by state and federal officials. The most recent problems came early last week when new oil skimmers "simply did not work" in the icy waters around the field, said Robert Watkins with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Until BP finds a way to clean up an oil spill in the broken ice during spring and fall, drilling at Northstar and four other coastal fields remains restricted to winter. At Northstar, which BP is working to bring on line by late 2001, the restrictions are forcing project managers to rethink development plans and will curtail oil flow at Northstar when the field opens.

BP readily concedes its equipment does not work. Just as quickly managers say they are sure they will find a solution. "Moving oil is one thing we know how to do," said Ed Thompson, BP's supervisor of emergency services on the North Slope.

State and North Slope officials are less certain of a quick fix.

"With this project, things always look great on paper but not good in the field," said Susan Harvey, the DEC's head of spill response.

Ned T. Arey Sr., a permitting official with the North Slope planning department in Barrow who watched drills this summer, said BP's can-do optimism may not be enough.

"They think they can do it. But they are finding that in the ice there are limits," Arey said.

BP's problems range from the practical -- unworkable skimmers and old oil containment boom -- to the ironic.

In a drill Sept. 30 to check pumps that in the event of a spill would empty recovered oil from a barge, BP tested the pumps using seawater. One of the pumps leaked hydraulic fluid that mixed with salt water being churned from the barge back into the ocean.

The mock-spill response team suddenly had to contend with a real, albeit tiny, spill.

"It was no more than a teaspoon," BP's Thompson said. Watkins estimated the leak was less than a gallon.

But the incident underlines what has become a deepening, difficult battle for BP and its $700 million Northstar development. By the measure of mammoth fields like Prudhoe Bay or Kuparuk, Northstar is barely a puddle, a scant 160 million barrels.

The project has been at the center of debates over state oil taxes. Northstar is also three years behind schedule, 50 percent overbudget and the flashpoint of a debate over oil development in Arctic seas.

Environmental groups like Greenpeace worry about the subsea pipeline connecting the field to shore and that BP has little ability to clean up a spill during broken ice conditions during fall and spring.

That spill response criticism is getting increasingly difficult to quash.

Federal, state and North Slope officials granted BP permits to develop Northstar, but they included requirements that BP demonstrate that it can clean up a spill in all ice conditions. The standards extend to all coastal fields, including Endicott, Point McIntyre and Niakuk.

The new regulations set a high standard, calling for BP to be ready to clean up a spill of tens of thousands of barrels. BP's largest spill in 30 years on the North Slope is five barrels.

In a winter oil spill, oil companies could drive equipment onto the sea ice and clean up.

The problem during spring breakup and fall freeze is that ice clogs the water, making skimmers all but useless. Oil boom, which is used to contain spilled oil, can be difficult to use with large chunks of ice around. Also, the frigid water thickens crude oil into a viscous mud that is difficult to handle. BP says it can handle viscous oil. State officials have doubts.

In a drill last October, a barge got stuck in shallow water, tugs to push barges were underpowered and companies did not have all the required skimming equipment.

In May, state and federal officials ordered BP to limit drilling to winter until it was ready to clean up a spill.

In a July drill, officials found that oil containment boom and skimmers worked poorly with large chunks of ice in the water.

In the Sept. 30 drill, in which BP pumped saltwater from the barge into the ocean, state officials expressed concern because BP did not test the equipment on actual crude oil. Also, BP didn't pump into waiting trucks or storage tanks onshore, leaving "an important link in the spill response chain untested," said Harvey, who heads state oil spill oversight.

During three days of drills last week, skimmers did not work. Also, oil containment boom was too long to be easily deployed, said Watkins of the DEC. Some of the boom also needs to be replaced, he said.

"For a real spill event, they don't have the pieces together yet," Harvey said. State and federal officials, North Slope Borough representatives and BP personnel will meet later this fall to discuss the spill response options along the Arctic coast, she said.

Meanwhile, the drilling restrictions remain in place.

That's no problem at older fields like Point McIntyre or Endicott, which are almost fully developed.

But limiting drilling to seven months of winter ice was never contemplated at Northstar. How much Northstar oil flow will be curbed is unknown, said Ronnie Chappell, BP spokesman.

The head of new projects for BP, Greg Mattson, said the company may do partial drilling in summer, which is permitted under the order. Mattson and Thompson suggested a nonmechanical solution, such as letting spilled oil freeze into the sea ice and removing it later with heavy equipment. Lobbying for new regulations is not yet in the plan.

"We're committed to response capabilities as our first objective, not a regulatory change that would lower the hurdle," Mattson said.

Thompson is confident the spill response issues can be resolved.

"We all went into this knowing this was an experimental process," he said.

BP is still exploring new spill response technology and has brought new tugboats and equipment to the Slope. The company recently completed a series of tests on pumping oil off of water.

Some North Slope residents are growing more skeptical about an already controversial Northstar project. Some Inupiat in the region are concerned that a spill at the field could affect subsistence whale hunting.

"What they say seems good in black and white," said Arey, with the North Slope Borough planning department. "But when it comes to currents, wind and ice, there is no way to respond."

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-- Doris (reaper@pacifier.com), October 15, 2000