Climate Changed
Pipeline Built to Survive Extremes Can’t Bear Slow Oil Flow
- Trans Alaska carrying just a quarter of its peak volume
- The lower the flow, the higher the risks from Arctic cold
The Nabors Alaska Drilling CDR2 AC oil drill rig, an Arctic coiled-tubing drilling rig capable of drilling either conventionally or with coiled tubing, is moved along a road in the North Slope in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, U.S., on Thursday, February 16, 2017.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Here at the top of the world, January brought a glimpse of the anxious future facing Alaska’s once-mighty oil pipeline.
The 800-mile Trans Alaska Pipeline System was built for extreme conditions. But as the state’s oil production declines, the pipeline faces a new challenge: flows so sluggish operators worry the line may become unusable, cutting off access for hundreds of North Slope oil wells.