http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/03/23/valdez.ap/index.htmlFor five days or more, a transit line operated by BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. upstream of the 800-mile-long main pipeline leaked up to 267,000 gallons of crude from a small hole onto the frozen tundra.
Transit lines generally have not been subjected to regulations as rigorous as the main line, although state regulatory officials say that could change because of the spill. State environmental regulators said the spill will likely lead to fines.
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The main pipeline, which stretches from Prudhoe Bay in the North Slope to Valdez in Prince William Sound, will be 30 years old in 2007. Less than half the oil is flowing now than at peak production, but the oil industry and state officials figure on at least another 30 years of life out of the pipeline.
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However, as the oil fields of the North Slope decline, the quality of oil is also declining, meaning coarser and heavier crude is flowing down the pipe, causing stress on it. That's what happened in the North Slope spill, BP officials said.
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