Alyeska Pipeline - News Center

Message to stakeholders, March 28

Click here for a PDF version of the letter to stakeholders from Alyeska President Brigham A. McCown

March 28, 2020

Dear community member,

I wanted to update you on Alyeska’s measures to protect against COVID-19 (coronavirus) and any impacts on the continued operations of the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). Alaskans count on Alyeska and TAPS to deliver North Slope crude safely and reliably every day. Pipelines are the very lifeblood of our economy. Like other companies designated critical infrastructure, our workforce is working to keep the nation, state, and the communities they live and work in both healthy and functioning. As an organization and as individuals, we know the importance of our role as a steadfast and robust community partner in all conditions, as we have been for more than 42 years.

Alyeska continues to proactively apply guidance from our medical experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Whether working from home or transiting in the state or local communities, we have implemented best practices in order to protect our workforce as well as those around them. These steps include hygiene protocols, self-monitoring for illness, maintaining social distancing, eliminating most travel, and implementing telework wherever possible because we take our responsibilities seriously. Alyeska has also taken these additional steps to limit the spread of the virus:

Approximately 500 Alyeska/TAPS office staff members (including dozens in Valdez) are working remotely, expanding the organization’s commitment to the safety of all workers by supporting recommended social distancing practices.
We have implemented screening for operation critical areas around TAPS including pump stations, our Operations Control Center, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. All employees are expected to self-screen and will also be screened daily by qualified personnel.
We submitted a travel plan to the State of Alaska that outlines our protocols for quarantining workers who live outside the state before returning for work. Employees transiting within the state for essential work onsite are following similar protocols to those traveling from out of state.
Individuals who live in or have recently visited or had family members visit restricted countries and states, as defined by Alyeska’s Medical Director using CDC data, have been asked to self-isolate and work remotely for 14 days. We have several employees and contractors meeting this commitment today.
We have identified and secured isolation facilities and materials along TAPS should any of our workforce become ill.
We are reducing our field activities and have been restricting non-essential travel along the TAPS route from Pump Station 1 to Valdez for more than 10 days.
All contractors are also expected to work with their employees to meet these same high standards.
We continue to coordinate with government and business industry partners to ensure we have a coordinated and unified approach.

This situation is fluid, and Alyeska continues seeking out knowledge and will continue to implement best practices to keep our employees, their families, and Alaskans safe. In this dynamic time, we are continually reviewing and updating measures to protect workers’ health and continue the important work of operating TAPS.

We are here to answer questions and concerns you may have. We are all in this together, and we need each other’s support so please stay in touch and let us know how we are doing,

Brigham A. McCown
President

#TAPSPride shines during challenging times

Alaska's pipeline people continue their routine of safe operations of TAPS 24/7, even as the world is changing so fast around us. They are working in remote areas like pump stations and outside along the rugged 800-mile TAPS route. Others are hunkering down and working remotely away from urban offices. Some continue working in facilities and office settings due to their unique roles while practicing social distancing. All Alyeska employees remain focused on the most important things: the health and safety of our people and the reliable operation of TAPS. Like everyone, our people have faced major change, challenges and distractions, but our culture of preparedness and safety has helped us move forward together. Everyone who works on TAPS appreciates the importance of their work and what the pipeline's operations means to our communities and our fellow Alaskans, to Alaska's economy, to our nation's energy independence. We call that #TAPSPride.

Going the extra mile: 2020 Atigun Awards recipients

The 2020 Atigun Awards season is here! TAPS employees nominated colleagues for outstanding work during 2019, and TAPS executives selected the Atigun Awards recipients. The annual awards honor employees, contractors and teams who truly "go the extra mile."

Atigun Awards elevate that impressive work in the categories of Environment; Innovation; Health and Safety; Integrity; and Teamwork. In addition, special honors include Lifetime Achievement, TAPS Professional of the Year, TAPS Engineer of the Year, TAPS Technician of the Year, and Contractor-Partner of the Year, which were selected by recently-retired Alyeska president Tom Barrett.

"It is exciting to see the Atigun Awards program grow and the TAPS pride it highlights in the amazing award winners and nominees, and everyone on TAPS who works and celebrates with them," said Barrett. "I've enjoyed elevating recognition in this way and especially treasured the opportunity to select President's Choice Award recipients every year. Please join me in congratulating the individuals and teams that are being recognized for their outstanding work and projects in 2019."

Atigun Awards recognize performance excellence for:

• Environment: Recognizing achievements in environmental protection, habitat enhancement, regulatory compliance or pollution prevention.

• Innovation: Leveraging knowledge and creativity to continuously improve operations and efficiency.

• Health and Safety: Recognizing achievements in health and safety of people and property, including process and operational safety.

• Integrity: Demonstrating commitment to the highest ethical standards. Recognizing achievements in meeting commitments to protect the operating integrity of TAPS and the integrity of APSC business practices.

• Teamwork: Applying shared responsibility for Alyeska's mission and resources entrusted to us.

The 2019 award recipients and honorable mentions are listed below.

2020 Atigun Awards recipients:

Environment Winner: Enhancement of traditional fish passage design

A novel approach was used in 2019 to extend the life of low-water crossings, used for vehicle and equipment access, to reduce maintenance efforts and enhance fish passage. Traditional methods required frequent maintenance and often resulted in higher water velocity. With the new design, streams can be maintained without increasing the velocity, which allows fish to pass through with ease.

Environment Honorable Mention: Wildlife response capabilities on TAPS

New goals were reached during the Minton Creek Combined Resource Exercise on July 30. The introduction of new technologies, remote deployment of the Wildlife Response Module and successful integration of agency participation was implemented to set a new standard for wildlife response efforts while successfully testing response capabilities, communication, logistics and safety standards.

Notable highlights include integrating the use of drone and helicopters in the same airspace to gather nearly real time footage for use in the Fairbanks Emergency Operations Center. A new permit application process was also developed and tested during the exercise, which received positive reviews from agency participants.

Innovation Winner: Direct weld metal deposition

2019 was the first year that direct weld metal deposition was performed to repair internal and external corrosion on TAPS piping. This new application replaces wall metal loss due to corrosion or mechanical damage. Without it, Alyeska would have likely incurred over a million dollars in repair costs by using traditional sleeve repairs. After rigorous testing and successful changes in industry coding, this new application changed how TAPS performs certain corrosion repairs and how the rest of the industry approaches these situations. This technology will help the organization reduce the duration and cost of pipeline corrosion repairs, which could be about a million dollars per year on the average, by reducing the need for massive digs while also reducing employee exposures to safety risk.

Innovation Honorable Mention: Evolution of contingency of ICS planning team

2019 was a transformative year for Alyeska's Incident Command System's (ICS) Contingency Incident Planning (CIP) team. They took an innovative approach to prioritizing their work and developing a schedule to plan for how they would accomplish their duties while evolving individual skillsets. Work duplication and rework was reduced between their department and other contributors by encouraging bringing up process edits early and involving the right voices while planning for the year. Their work and preparation paid off, and the team is more effective than ever, even with fewer resources than previous years. They also expanded the use of innovative software during an incident, including IAP and Send Word Now, to improve ICS documentation and send notifications and communicate across TAPS. Due to their planning, the BP Shipper Drill was cut down to two days instead of the expected three- to four-day duration.

Health and Safety Winner: PIT Program Facility Inspection Team – X619 PS03 confined space entry work

A group comprised of individuals from Alyeska Safety, Houston Contracting, and Team Industrial Services helped provided a resolution after the discovery of additional corrosion that was not detectable by the Diakont Inline Inspection (ILI) tool at PS03 during the X619 below-ground inspection. ILI crawler inspections were performed in Tank 130 inlet/outlet 36-inch piping, and PS03 relief system below-ground piping. Repairs were performed inside multiple sections of 36-inch piping and each route had only a single entry and exit point. Confined space entry to this extent is a rare occurrence for TAPS workers, so extensive plans were created and coordinated successfully to ensure safe inspections and repairs of multiple sections of pipe.

Health and Safety Honorable Mention: Wellness on TAPS

In 2019, the OHU team brought to life a strategy to make health a priority on TAPS. This was accomplished by providing education and wellness resources for field and urban employees. While Alyeska already had a robust Wellness Program that included a health maintenance reimbursement, a registered dietician for counseling, and healthier meals options in the field, resources were expanded to include educational opportunities on women's and men's health, opportunities to participate in activities including a six-week family wellness challenges, and various events the promote healthy lifestyles. Field medics are also being recognized for their work to bring onsite medical support, including blood pressure and blood sugar tracking, flu shots, blood draws for wellness screenings, and supporting the Wellness Program by presenting topics that are shared in the Anchorage, Valdez and Fairbanks offices.

Integrity Winner: Nordale PFAS mitigation

When a sampling of the Nordale Yard water well showed concentrations of PFAS above the State of Alaska action levels for groundwater contamination, a small group at Alyeska took swift action to communicate to potentially impacted parties. Their proactive action to mitigate the situation helped Alyeska maintain a positive, trusted reputation among the community and with regulatory agencies.

Integrity Honorable Mention: PS 10 facility removal

For the first time on TAPS, almost an entire facility was demolished and removed. With no template to follow, each day of the PS 10 demolition was well-planned and methodically performed to ensure safe and efficient success. Cleanup was performed at the end of each workday to ensure materials were contained and secured. The people involved in this project also ensured that Alyeska kept its commitment to dismantle unused TAPS facilities while meeting all regulatory, Grant and Lease requirements.

Teamwork Winner: Triconex replacement

Alyeska staff and contractors worked side by side to remove old equipment and wiring to install the G007 Triconex system replacement on Remote Gate Valves (RGVs) along TAPS. The recognized efforts between pump station teams, Automation/SCADA engineers, and OCC maintenance personnel were done with consistency and safety in mind. The new Triconex units can be remotely managed by automation engineers and will lead to 20 years of reliable communications and control of RGVs.

Teamwork Honorable Mention: Operation Blue Whale project

After a 10-year legal hold was lifted, Alyeska's Compliance and Documentation team started a warehouse cleanup effort. This massive project involved collaboration with several departments, many of which had to sort through its old records. This team made a consistent process to determine what could be destroyed and put a new radio-frequency identification system in place to easily locate and track boxes in the future. Alyeska shredded more than 15,000 boxes totaling 455,000 pounds (more than the weight of a blue whale), and the departmental collaboration resulted in a successful 12-week cleanup.

Teamwork Honorable Mention: 2019 lower Sag River emergency flood repairs

During the spring months of 2019, the lower Sagavanirktok (Sag) River basin experienced its fifth highest flood level in the past 40 years due to ice buildup and unusually warm daily temperatures. After accelerated snowmelt, flooding breached numerous TAPS earthwork structures designed to protect buried mainline from erosion and washout exposure. Considerable external corrosion damage was done to the Cathodic Protection System, buried mainline and fuel gas line. The highest risk was exposure to more than 350 feet of buried 48-inch mainline between Milepost 28.2-28.3.

Several teams collaborated to find solutions to the flood damage and numerous challenges were confronted during this work campaign. Investigation and surveillance from helicopter overflights and drones helped teams make informed decisions in identifying repairs. technology determined exposed pipe damage through aerial photogrammetry and in washout areas with underwater photos and videos. Helicopter overflights also helped prioritize a list of needed repairs for each team. Sourcing numerous permits and resources for repairs took coordination and discipline in following consistent processes.

The 2019 President's Award recipients are:

◦Contractor of the Year: Central Environment, Inc. (CEI)

◦Engineer of the Year: Dave Roberts

◦Technician of the Year: Sailor Williams

◦Lifetime Achievement: Rod Hanson

◦Professional of the Year: Michelle Egan

◦Professional of the Year: Nichole Gentz-Wilkins

Events to celebrate and recognize the award winners and honorable mention recipients will be coming this spring.

Brigham McCown named new president of Alyeska Pipeline

Brigham A. McCown will become the next president of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company in January 2020. The selection was announced by the TAPS Owners Committee.

McCown is the second company president hired as an Alyeska employee following Vice Admiral Thomas Barrett, USCG (Ret.), who was brought on in January 2011 and is retiring.

McCown brings over three decades of executive management, legal, and operational experience in the infrastructure and transportation industries. He currently serves as chairman and CEO of Nouveau Consulting where he advises on matters pertaining to federal security and safety regulations. He is also chairman and founder of the Alliance for Innovation and Infrastructure, a non-partisan think tank leveraging innovation to improve infrastructure safety.

McCown has held several posts at the U.S. Department of Transportation, serving as a direct report to both democratic and republican Secretaries of Transportation including service as the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) first deputy administrator. In 2013, he retired from the U.S. Navy after 25 years of combined active and reserve service as a naval officer and naval aviator.

Outgoing president Admiral Tom Barrett, who will work with McCown during a transition period in January, stated, “I have known Brigham for many years and I share Alyeska’s Owners’ confidence in his excellent fit as Alyeska’s next president and in his ability to lead the organization. I am equally confident in the proud and talented TAPS people, whose dedication to safety, protecting our environment, operational excellence, reliability, efficiency and innovative work will carry TAPS operations into the next 40 years and beyond.”

“Brigham brings a deep and varied range of experience in the regulatory realm to Alyeska, including a sharp focus on operations and an unwavering commitment to safety,” said Jerry Frey, president of ExxonMobil Pipeline Company and chair of the TAPS Owners Committee. “We are confident in his leadership skills, which have been proven in many unique arenas, and in his ability to keep Alyeska and TAPS moving forward during this exciting time for Alaska’s oil and gas industry. Brigham has a high level of enthusiasm for working in Alaska, on the iconic and critical infrastructure of TAPS, and with the men and women of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company.”

“TAPS Owners and Alyeska leaders are grateful to Tom Barrett for his extraordinary leadership,” Frey said. “In his tenure, he built community partnerships, strengthened Alyeska’s culture, advanced the company’s safety record and expanded the focus on ethics, compliance, diversity and innovation. Tom led a transformative shift in Alyeska’s business and maintenance strategy. His leadership and initiatives will have a lasting impact on the company, on TAPS sustainability, and on Alaska.”

With nine years of service as Alyeska president, Barrett is the longest tenured of any Alyeska CEO/President in the company’s 49-year history. During his time at Alyeska, the organization celebrated its 35^th and 40^th anniversaries, 17 and 18 billionth barrel moved, increased throughput for the first time since 2002, and numerous safety, environment and compliance honors. Under Barrett, the organization evolved and innovated to successfully tackle numerous operational and external challenges.

TAPS reaches landmark, moves its 18 billionth barrel

The 18 billionth barrel of Alaska North Slope crude started down the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) from Pump Station 1 in Prudhoe Bay at 8 a.m., December 6, 2019.

“This marks another significant operational milestone for TAPS, for Alaska and Alaskans, for the oil and gas industry, and countless individuals whose work carries on the remarkable legacy of this unique infrastructure,” said Tom Barrett, President of Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, TAPS’ operator. “This milestone brings justifiable TAPS Pride among the smart, tough people at Alyeska Pipeline and our contractors who run TAPS safely every day.”

The launch of the pipeline transformed Alaska from a frontier state to an economic force. June 20, 1977, marked the startup of TAPS operations, with the first barrel of oil arriving in Valdez on July 28, and the first tanker departing the Valdez Marine Terminal a few days later. TAPS’ billionth barrel arrived on January 22, 1980. The 17 billionth barrel started down TAPS on July 19, 2014. Since startup, North Slope crude transported by TAPS has brought in an estimated $145 billion in revenue to the State of Alaska.

Other recent major operations landmarks include: the 40^th anniversary of TAPS operations in 2017; the number of tankers loaded (22,600 through October 2019); and the number of tanker escorts provided by Alyeska’s Ship Escort/Response Vessel System (nearly 14,000).

“TAPS workers achieve these milestones with a laser focus on safety and the environment. Our team just marked 26 million hours of work without a serious injury,” said Barrett.

Fishing Vessel Training: By the numbers

Alyeska’s award-winning Vessel of Opportunity Program started in 1990 to ready citizens and fishing industry professionals around Prince William Sound to provide oil spill response support in the unlikely case of an actual incident. Each year, SERVS staff provides program members with Fishing Vessel Training, which includes on-the-ground education and on-the-water training and drills to more than 1,500 crewmembers of approximately 450 vessels from six Prince William Sound ports.

“The Vessel of Opportunity program is a side of Alyeska many employees don’t realize exists and are surprised to hear about the countless hours put into the preparation, travel, and training it takes to certify over 1,500 captains and crew in a seven-week period,” said Kate Goudreau, the Vessel of Opportunity Coordinator. “We have an amazing opportunity to interact with Prince William Sound stakeholders and fishermen and it’s truly an inspiration to see so many people working together to ensure we are all constantly prepared to respond to a worst-case scenario.”

With this year’s Fishing Vessel Training tour officially wrapping up in Cordova in the first week of October, Goudreau provided an overview of the program and some numbers of this year’s specific training sessions.

When does Fishing Vessel Training take place?

From the end of March through late September/early October. March-May is spring training, September-October is fall training.

Where do the trainings take place?

Kodiak, Homer, Seward, Whittier, Cordova and Valdez.

How many fishing vessels and crewmembers participate?

Around 450 vessels with more than 1,500 crewmembers

How many days of training?

There are 51 days of training overall, and each crew member gets three days of training: two days in the classroom and one day on water.

How many Alyeska/Edison Chouest Offshore/TAPS contractor vessels, equipment and crews are involved?

Alyeska/SERVS staff uses 5-6 crew at each port; Edison Chouest uses roughly six crew (depending if they use the Tug Ross Chouest or the NearShore Support Barge, 500-2), including one specifically for safety; TCC has 13 crew, including one for safety; eight Fishing Vessel Administrators set up in the ports, and countless contractors are involved with the loadout operations (forklifts, flatbed trucks, etc.).

What are the largest and smallest fishing vessels involved?

The longest vessel is 88 feet; the smallest, 26.

What is the variety of skimmers and boom used in training?

All boom is taught in the classroom setting but calm water boom, intertidal boom and Buster systems are deployed on water. All types of skimmers may be discussed or touched on, but this year had our hands-on coverage with the Micro power pack with the Termite and Crucial skimmers, Helix & Elastic power pack/skimmers, deluge and shore-vac tactics.

In Homer, responders in a wildlife task force practiced catching floating decoy ducks. How many fake ducks were used during that exercise?

8-10.

Unmanned aircraft makes beyond-line-of-sight history

Read the full press release from UAF here

A team led by the University of Alaska Fairbanks has completed the country’s first FAA-approved true beyond-visual-line-of-sight domestic flight of an unmanned aircraft system under the small UAS rule.

The flight is a step toward gaining more routine Federal Aviation Administration approval of commercial beyond-visual-line-of-sight unmanned aircraft flights. Such approval could allow organizations to use unmanned aircraft to monitor pipelines and other infrastructure in Alaska and the rest of the United States.

Operators from the university’s Alaska Center for Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration flew a Skyfront Perimeter long range hybrid-electric unmanned aircraft 3.87 miles along the Trans Alaska Pipeline System corridor, starting at a location near the Chatanika River on the Elliott Highway.

During the flight, the team used onboard and ground-based detection systems, instead of human observers, to detect and avoid other aircraft in the airspace. Those included Iris Automation’s Casia, an onboard collision avoidance technology, and a 5-nautical-mile system consisting of eight ground-based Echodyne radars, which provided aviation radar coverage along the flight path. The detect-and-avoid systems prevent an unmanned aircraft from colliding with a manned aircraft. They will be key to the FAA approving the use of unmanned aircraft beyond the visual line of sight.

“The ability to use UAVs for surveillance in remote areas of the pipeline increases the tools at our disposal to operate TAPS more reliably and safely and better protect Alaska’s environment. This innovative step forward will advance safe performance not just in our industry, but in multiple disciplines and workspaces across the country,” said Tom Barrett, president of Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., which operates the trans-Alaska pipeline system.

The flights were a part of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program, a national initiative from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the White House. The IPP was created by a presidential memorandum to help integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace at or below 400 feet, and find ways to safely fly unmanned aircraft beyond visual line of sight, carry out night operations and operate over people. All of these are currently restricted under FAA regulations.

“The Integration Pilot Program is helping us advance the safe, secure and reliable integration of drones into the national airspace,” said FAA Acting Administrator Daniel K. Elwell. “This important milestone in Alaska gets us closer to that goal.”

Iris Automation CEO and co-founder Alexander Harmsen said, “This is the first time that detect-and-avoid technology is approved by an aviation authority as reliable enough to allow for BVLOS drone operations. We’re grateful for the FAA’s continued push to recognize and understand how these technologies will enable the successful and safe integration of UAS into our lives and businesses.”

The Alaska IPP goals include enabling routine monitoring flights of both the trans-Alaska oil pipeline and Hilcorp Alaska’s Swanson River Oil Pipeline, and delivering medical supplies to remote areas. The partners also have an overall goal of enabling operations beyond the line of sight across Alaska 24 hours a day, all year long.

“The integration of unmanned aircraft into America’s skies just took another important step toward realization,” said Cathy Cahill, director of ACUASI, which is part of the UAF Geophysical Institute. “These first flights demonstrated that new technology can provide a route toward safe beyond-visual-line-of-sight operation of unmanned aircraft in Alaska. We want to ensure the safety of manned aviation while opening new opportunities for unmanned aircraft cargo deliveries to villages, monitoring of infrastructure, mammal surveys and a host of other missions of use to Alaskans.”

Marine services transition group earns Teamwork honor

The Alyeska employees responsible for the marine services transition can point to many factors in their ultimate success.

For example, innovation: they influenced the construction of a sleek fleet of purpose-built ships with the best available technology. Or, their environment focus: protecting Prince William Sound constantly underscored decisions. Or perhaps, their shared safety lens: how the team constantly reviewed and reworked plans to deliver the transition responsibly, without harm.

But when the final ships cruised into Valdez at last, one recurring word floated to the surface, a summation of all the massive effort following more than two years of diligence and focus: teamwork.

The stunning volume of collaboration involving more than 80 TAPS employees working together for more than two years on the transition has netted this hard-working and committed group of professionals the 2018 Atigun Award for Teamwork.

It’s an award that historically has honored everything from significant projects to compelling leadership. In this case, the award goes to a cross-functional team of highly motivated, devoted, and aligned employees whose shared vision and values helped them deliver a project that was massive in scope, complex in its components, and about as high-stakes as any work on TAPS that’s ever come to pass.

“I developed amazing relationships across the Alyeska teams that I will cherish forever,” said Dawn McQuay, Contracting Officer. “The respect that I have for my fellow teammates is something that I don’t take lightly; they spent many long nights away from home and their families, eating pizza and working through piles of data and spreadsheets. Scenario after scenario had to be proved out, we had to get it right. There was no easy day.”

The effort to successfully design, construct and incorporate Edison Chouest Offshore vessels into SERVS’ operations required personnel from across Alyeska and far beyond. From the earliest contractual steps to the eventual arrival of a new fleet of barges and tugs, the work was unending and far-reaching.

TAPS employees from multiple teams took on accountabilities so that the group came to represent a microcosm of TAPS itself. There were people with strong finance and contractual backgrounds, mariners from SERVS, engineers, contingency planners, safety specialists, lawyers, communications experts, and more. External experts contributed too, with representation from TAPS Mariners, Owners, pilots from Southwest Alaska Pilots Association, and input from key stakeholders.

“I am proud of how everyone worked together and how we took an end goal of a successful contract transition and figured out how we were going to get there in the allotted timeframe, then meeting our goal, on time, despite all of the curveballs thrown at us along the way,” said Gwen Gavin, Marine Transition Training Coordinator. “And everyone remained focused, professional and even polite.”

Truly, it exceeded polite. Transition team members said the group shared a sense of personal ownership and commitment to the work that was foundational to their cohesiveness, and success. Many spent weeks and months of travel time around Alaska and far beyond, inspecting the new ships, building new relationships and program components with the vendor, and nurturing trust and credibility with critical stakeholders.

“This took commitment beyond the promise of a paycheck,” said Kate Dugan, Valdez Communications Manager. “Transition team members had a deeply held belief that we were doing the right thing to protect Prince William Sound. In the end, the transition was a once-in-a-career event for many of us, and one that everyone carries a great deal of ownership and pride in following reflection on its successful implementation.”

Over the course of two years, the transition team delivered on-time arrival of new vessels and crews, and successfully managed outgoing Crowley crews and the final demobilization of Crowley tugs.

The process touched nearly every TAPS workgroup and included construction oversight, complex contract negotiations, project management, high-stakes regulatory interaction, must-succeed training development and execution, high-profile stakeholder and media communication.

And in summer 2018, the new fleet of purpose-built, technologically advanced oil spill prevention and response vessels and trained personnel arrived in Prince William Sound.

“This work required a great deal of courage and connection,” said Mike Day, Transition Manager. “A system view and teamwork can’t exist without trust from the outside world of regulators, stakeholders, and the people who live here. It can’t work in Alyeska without trust between leadership and teams, and enough communication to glue those parts into a whole. We had to earn each other’s trust every day, and still do even though this project is over. It is an honor to work alongside everyone that made this improvement."

The 2018 Atigun winners for Teamwork are: Andres Morales; Dan Flodin; Tom Stokes; Michelle Egan; Julia Redington; Scott Hicks; Andy Sorensen; Mike Day; Jennifer Bleicher; Joe Gibson; Dawn McQuay; Robyn Brune; Gwen Gavin; Dennis Fleming; Kate Dugan; Josh Niva; Monty Morgan; Rosie Tapp; Marina Sapelnik; Chuck Strub; Jay Hoffman; Pam Chenier; Tom Brady; Jan Shifflett; Sue Wood; Mike Patrick; Bill Roach; Nate Smith; John May; Tia Anderson; Martin Parsons; Betty Hoffman; Dwight Morrison; Sam Swatzell; Ross Nease; Steve Johns; Kate Goudreau; Steve Hood; Marvin Hood; Paul Crater; Elise Leahy; Jimmy Chavez; Robert McMullen; Jim Ujioka; Stacia Miller; Zach West; Rhonda Wilson; Mike Johnson; Sara Montgomery; Hayden MacDonald; Jimmy Cummins; Greg Gudgell; Patrick O'Donnell; Todd Taylor; Randy Salenski; Andrew Abbott; Regina Ward; Jenna Compehos; Amanda Hatton; Melany Brewi; Sean Wisner; Diana Bouchard; Ryan Morgan; Cheri Manning; Art Knolle; Brent Lirette; Jim Godin; Billy Joe Pelegrin; Scott Burg; Nathan Curole; Roger White; Gary Rook; Gary Chouest; Jennifer Weber; Scott Bonner; Dave Blossom; Dave Petersen; Shannon Hammerly; Schawnda Gallup; Alex Sweeney; Brianna Hammes; Linda Edwards; Dan Gilson; John Horey; Angela Walters; Marjorie Nichols-Baron; Louis Richmond; and Craig Plaisance.

"Piglets" explore, inspect Terminal piping

What do pipeline people accustomed to inspecting 48-inch diameter TAPS pipe use when they have to thoroughly inspect two-, four- and six-inch diameter piping? A parade of piglets, of course!

In July, TAPS teams utilized a Small Bore Inline Inspection Tool (aka smart piglet) and small cleaning pigs to inspect a quarter-mile of aged, six-inch diameter underground ultra-low sulfur diesel pipe at the Valdez Marine Terminal. It was the first inspection of the piping since TAPS construction and the teams leveraged the modern, mini inspection tools to collect data that would determine the integrity of the pipe and the potential risk of diesel escaping to nearby water.

Alan Beckett, Alyeska's Senior Integrity Management Engineer, called the project "a defining moment of technology use on TAPS."

The small bore piping inspection project took about a year to complete after the contract was in place. Alyeska teamed up with Quest Integrity, Coffman Engineering, Houston Contracting Company, and PEAK on the project. The team chose to challenge the Quest Integrity cleaning and inspection tools at the Terminal, where there are all types of piping, infrastructure and equipment to work around. And they chose to inspect the Terminal's fuel line system because most of it runs underground, it terminates at the shoreline, and they wanted assurance that it was in good condition.

Just like the massive pigs that clean and inspect the 800 miles of TAPS piping, these little piglets cleaned and inspected the smaller diesel line.

The big difference?

"One person can easily handle these pigs," explained Carol Simmons, Alyeska Integrity Engineer. "They're very flexible and light. The six-inch diameter cleaning pigs are 18 inches long and made of light foam. The inspection pig is about three feet long and weighs about 20 pounds."

In fact, the three cleaning pigs were so light that Simmons' team had to use a pump skid to provide a push during the six cleaning runs. One cleaning pig was simple foam; another was more aggressive with brushes; and a third scraped the pipe with rubber discs.

"The cleaning pigs did a great job! The more pigs you run through the pipe, the better you get at launching, tracking and receiving the pigs," Simmons said.

She added that "Forty years of debris came out" during the multiple cleaning runs which each took 12-15 minutes to complete.

With clean pipes, the team ran two inspections with the smart piglet – the first lost about three feet of data collection when it hit a T in the line and found an air pocket; the second, after a backflush of the system to remove the air, caught all the data. Each inspection run was about 15-20 minutes.

"We were hoping to find pinholes, pits, general corrosion, wall thickness deviations, dents and more," explained Simmons. When the data came back, Simmons said the system was in surprisingly great shape – pipe thickness looked good, with very little corrosion, except for a pair of big dents in one small stretch of pipe.

"Our best guess is maybe a backhoe clamped onto the pipe then let it go after realizing what it was, leaving a dent on both sides," Simmons added. "Fortunately the pigs were able to pass through the narrow area."

After careful excavation of the pipe, the exposed area was then inspected with other nondestructive examination methods including dye penetrant, magnetic particle, straight beam UT, and laser profilometry. While no loss of containment occurred, the team then repaired the damage by welding a sleeve over the dented area, then coating, wrapping and reburying it.

Beckett and Simmons said last summer's work could be just the start of small bore utility piping inspections at the Terminal and at TAPS pump stations, where there are arrays of small diameter lines that serve many purposes. Specifically at the Terminal, Simmons is interested in inspecting the chemical sewer line, the ballast water lines and more.

"I think this is a great program that we should continue to develop, to assure ourselves that the 40-year-old small bore piping is in good shape, and will not need to be replaced anytime soon," Simmons said.

Alyeska Traveling Health Fair: Positive PWS impact

Alyeska's Traveling Health and Safety Fair spent four days in the Prince William Sound communities of Tatitlek and Chenega Bay recently, marking the 21st year of the annual event. Eight health care providers from across Alaska, nine UAA pharmacy students and faculty, and a pair of Alyeska employees joined the crew of Edison Chouest Offshore’s utility tug Ross Chouest, which transported the contingent on its five-day journey from Valdez to Tatitlek to Chenega Bay and back.

The group facilitated two full-day schedules of events each in Tatitlek and Chenega Bay. Both stops included a free health fair available for all residents, where they could receive basic biometric screenings and information on nutrition, healthy relationships, tobacco prevention, active lifestyles and more. Throughout both days there were also hearing, vision and development checkups for the community’s kids and classroom sessions about mental health and wellness, first aid and handwashing, positive communication and healthy food choices.

Each morning, health fair contributors ate breakfast with local youth at their schools. There were also special men's breakfasts, women's teas, and community dinners that packed each school's respective gymnasium, offering tasty and healthy menus that were headlined by Cajun-style shrimp and corn soup created by ECO Chef Chad Cavalier.

Local leaders and high school students also had the opportunity to tour the Ross Chouest, which provides a variety of services around the Prince William Sound area. Captain Carlos Alemany and his enthusiastic crew led visitors around the unique vessel’s deck, into its engine room, and other areas.

Even rare moments of downtime were filled with opportunities for health fair participants to encourage healthy lifestyles by playing basketball or jumping rope with local youth and assist in community projects like sewing tribal regalia, organizing donated library books, and prepping healthy snacks for schoolkids.

"The Prince William Sound Traveling Health Fair is the culmination of months of careful planning and preparation by Alyeska staff, contractors and community partners," explained Kate Dugan, Alyeska's Valdez Communications Manager. "It was special to make the trip for the first time with Edison Chouest Offshore and the terrific crew aboard the Ross Chouest. The event is always an adventure and this year was no exception."

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