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Portion of Oliktok Pipeline to
be expanded from 8 to 16 inches
Kristen Nelson Petroleum News
Oliktok Pipeline has applied to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska for a construction permit to replace 1,400 feet of the line to match the remainder of the line's 16-inch diameter pipe.
RCA said in a June 20 public notice that the replacement line would be from the tie-in at Skid 50 to Module 501, enabling the line to expand capacity from 90 million cubic feet per day of natural gas to 114 million cubic feet.
The agency is accepting comments on the application through 5 p.m. July 11.
The company said in its June 13 application that the line is primarily a 16-inch pipeline. It runs from Prudhoe Bay near Pump Station No. 1 of the trans-Alaska pipeline to Central Processing Facility 1 of the Kuparuk River unit.
The Oliktok Pipeline is certificated to transport natural gas and natural gas liquids. From 1985 to 1988 it carried natural gas and from 1995 to 2014 it carried NGLs. Shippers requested conversion from NGL to natural gas service in 2014 to facilitate gas deliveries from the Prudhoe Bay to Kuparuk River units and in the future to the Milne Point unit. In 2018 shippers requested conversion to NGL transportation, and in 2021 shippers requested resumption of natural gas transportation service.
Segment of line 8-inch diameter The 1,400 feet of line to be replaced is 8-inch diameter pipe, which, the company said, would be upsized to 16-inch diameter from the tie-in at Skid 50 to Module 501, with small sections of the existing 8-inch pipe to be demolished to accommodate tie-in to the larger 16-diameter line and the remainder abandoned in place.
The new 1,400 feet of pipe will be installed on existing vertical support members, with a new 36-inch road crossing casing installed under Spine Road to accommodate the new pipe.
There will be additional modifications to replace and upsize equipment as needed.
Oliktok Pipeline said the capital expense is estimated at $9.5 million, with annual operating expenses of the pipeline not changing, and estimated to continue at some $6.312 million per year.
The company said that after completion of the work it would prepare a filing to update the pipeline's rates accordingly.
--KRISTEN NELSON
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