JUNEAU, Alaska, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- The pipeline company responsible for a closed oil corridor from Alaska said it could build a bypass to restore service to the pipeline, an official said.
Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. during the weekend shut down the Trans-Alaska pipeline when workers found oil leaking at a pump station on the North Slope. The company called on British energy company BP to cut output by 95 percent, sending shock waves through the commodity market.
The company said the spill was minor, with about 10 barrels -- around 420 gallons -- of oil recovered from the site.
Katie Pesznecker, a spokeswoman for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, told Bloomberg News that Alyeska preparing to build an alternative route but she said she wasn't "going to speculate" on when the 800-mile pipeline would return to service.
Refiners on the western U.S. coast said the closure of the Trans-Alaska pipeline didn't interrupt service much, though crude oil and gasoline prices rose in the wake of the shut down.
The lack of Alaskan crude on the market, Bloomberg adds, could push refiners to use oil reserves from Russia and Oman as concerns mount over the impact on U.S. crude oil supplies.
