There have been several articles recently concerning the billion-dollar giveaway and BP's future plans. Let's see if I have this right. The state gives the oil industry a billion-dollar gift each year with no strings attached. The industry — BP — says they are not going to look for new oil because they already have a billion barrels in reserves.
Now BP claims that their NS projects that have been progressing through their system are a result of the billion-dollar gift. Projects include drilling more wells and modifying processing facilities to increase production. This increase comes from known reserves and is actually accelerated production (oil that would otherwise be produced in the future). Accelerating production decreases field life thereby increasing profits for BP (same oil produced in fewer years).
It's likely that when Prudhoe Bay ceases to produce, the pipeline will shut down. We are paying BP $1 billion a year so they can accelerate production to shorten field life, increase profits, and shut down TAPS sooner. It doesn't make much sense to me.
— Blair E. Wondzell,
petroleum engineer
Anchorage