BP stops 100,000 barrels of Alaska oil

PRUDHOE BAY, Alaska, May 22 (UPI) -- BP PLC said Tuesday a pencil-size hole in a water pipeline shut down 100,000 barrels, or 25 percent, of its Alaskan oil production "for a few days."

The stoppage from the water-pipe leak in Prudhoe Bay, in Alaska's North Slope Borough, is unlikely to affect oil markets, analysts said.

But the incident drew an immediate scolding from U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who heads the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Stupak said the leak was "yet further evidence that BP's cost-cutting culture has put our nation's economy at risk," The Times of London reported.

The committee is investigating last summer's partial shutdown of Prudhoe Bay, which cut output for several weeks and hit global oil markets.

London-based BP said it was fixing the leak and investigating what caused it.

"We expect the facility will be down for a few days," a spokesman said.

The multinational oil company said it discovered the leak Monday after about 20 barrels of "produced water" seeped out of a 12-inch pipe. Produced water, extracted from oil in separators, is reinjected into oil wells to maintain pressure.

BP said the environment suffered no damage from the leak and nobody was injured.