Major Oil Problems in Alaska

In Alaska, an oil spill has occurred during the month of March. This oil spill is recorded as the largest spill ever on the North Slope. It has raised new concerns among state and federal governments about whether "BP" has been fully maintaining the old-fashioned group of wells, pumps and pipelines that crisscross the Alaskan tundra. BP Exploration Alaska is the company that controls the pipelines in Alaska, and is responsible for the corroded transmission line from which more than 200,000 gallons of crude oil leaked onto the lands of Alaska. The company has been criticized and fined on several different occasion, such as in the year 2004 when the company was fined $1.2 million. Now, the Division of the Federal Department of Transportation, which is responsible for pipeline safety, is examining the company's actions. The Department has told the company that it can not restart the pipeline until: the agency had thoroughly inspected the line, both internally and externally, repaired the problem, and given the company a corrosion-monitoring plan. It has also been reported that several workers have alerted BP management that there were problems with corrosion in the pipeline, which should have been looked at, but were not. So, the government will heavily scrutinize the pipeline, and fix every necessary problem to make it operational again. Hopefully, there will be no more problems in the future.
Relating to American History, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was created to move oil from the North Slope of Alaska to the northern most ice- free port in the state, known as Valdez, Alaska. Construction for the pipeline began on March 27, 1975, and was completed on May 31, 1977. It cost $8 billion in 1977 to make the pipeline, which was the largest privately-funded construction project of the era. The first oil was moved through the pipeline on June 20, 1977. Since that time, over 14 billion barrels have moved through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System. Hopefully, the pipeline can be kept open and operational.