The House Energy Committee called BP’s pipeline chief to Washington. After the second hearing in a month, Kevin Hostler has decided to quit.
The 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline System transports 700,000 barrels of oil per day, about 15 percent of US crude oil production. BP’s severe policies has cut the 2010 budget to $1 billion, compared with $1.1 billion in 2009 and $1.3 billion in 2008.
Based on hundreds of pages of internal documents and interviews with more than a dozen senior employees on the safety and integrity of the pipeline, the ‘Business Practices, Employee Concerns Program and Compliance and Ethics Group’ will develop a plan for enhancing the open work environment to deal with issues of intimidation and fear.
“There is a risk ranking exercise that is used and the concern that the risk ranking is being used primarily for budget reductions and although work is shown as lower risk it still should be done to protect the environment.”
Alaskans are celebrating. The pipeline’s owners issued an executive obit:
“This is consistent with the recent employee survey that demonstrated there has been a reduction in employee comfort in reporting concerns to senior management.”
Stealing credit from her predecessor, Sarah Palin boasts on radio and TV, : “I had to set up our Petroleum Systems Integrity Office so that we could be there on the front lines making sure what the oil companies were telling us was legit when they were dealing with their corroded pipes that we find out and other lax maintenance issues….“
More than 100 recorded incidents of corroded pipes and “other lax maintenance issues” between 2001 and 2007 reveals Palin’s pipeline oversight was bogus