Kiss 400,000 barrels per day goodbye!

BP to Shutdown Prudhoe Bay Oil Field

Sunday August 6, 7:30 pm ET

Company acts in response to spill, unexpected corrosion

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Aug. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- BP Exploration Alaska, Inc. has begun an orderly and phased shutdown of the Prudhoe Bay oil field following the discovery of unexpectedly severe corrosion and a small spill from a Prudhoe Bay oil transit line. Shutting down the field will take days to complete. Over time, these actions will reduce Alaska North Slope oil production by an estimated 400,000 barrels per day.

[XX Sean's note -- they'll be replacing AT LEAST 3 miles of pipe. That's how much BP was planning on replacing before this crisis hit. In the meantime, we won't have close to 8% of US oil production, or 40% of the global "margin of safety" on daily oil production. Do you think prices are going higher?]

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