Trans-Alaska pipeline pumping below normal level

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), a major conduit for Alaska's crude oil, plans to ramp up throughput to 600,000 barrels a day on Wednesday, following planned maintenance that idled the pipeline over the weekend.

TAPS is currently running about 460,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude, but it should increase throughput to around 600,000 bpd on Wednesday, said Matt Carle, a spokesman for pipeline operator Alyeska.

The 600,000-bpd level at which TAPS is expected to operate in the near future, according to Carle, is well below the pipeline system's 2009 average rate of around 700,000 bpd.

Carle declined to forecast when TAPS would return to typically higher throughput levels.

TAPS has undergone all of its planned maintenance for the summer season. The pipeline system has been shipping less crude as U.S. oil demand falters in a recession, Alaska's production declines, and some Alaskan producers carry out field maintenance. At its 1998 peak, TAPS shipped 2.1 million bpd.

The line was closed for 36 hours of planned maintenance starting Saturday. The work was the second and final planned maintenance of the summer season, Carle said.

Alyeska's major owners have big interests in Alaska's North Slope oilfields, including BP (BP.L), ConocoPhillips (COP.N), and Exxon Mobil (XOM.N). Unocal pipeline, a unit of Chevron (CVX.N), and Koch Alaska Pipeline Co also hold smaller stakes.

(Reporting by Joshua Schneyer; Editing by Christian Wiessner)