ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Closure of the Trans Alaska Pipeline on Saturday was only the latest incident for the 33-year-old oil artery, which carries about 12 percent of the nation’s supply 800 miles from the Prudhoe Bay oilfield to the tanker port of Valdez.
The following is a list of previous mishaps and closures:
* February 15, 1978 - Sabotage at Steele Creek near Fairbanks by an unknown person blew a hole in the line, causing about 670,000 gallons to spill (16,000 barrels).
* March 24, 1989 - Exxon Valdez oil spill, 11 million gallons spilled. Tanker had loaded at the pipeline marine terminal, operator Alyeska was faulted for poor preparation and response, and wound up paying a civil settlement.
* October 4, 2001 - An intoxicated man fired a high-powered gun and shot a hole in the pipeline at Livengood, roughly halfway down the line, resulting in a release of about 250,000 gallons (6,143 barrels) onto the ground.
* November 3, 2002 - Denali earthquake, magnitude 7.9. Pipeline was closed for 66 hours for inspection but no spills or damage. Pipeline determined to have responded to the earthquake as designed.
* 2007 - Fire at storage tank at Pump Station 9, about 105 miles south of Fairbanks, closed the pipeline for more than three days.
* May 25, 2010 - Electrical outage during scheduled maintenance caused crude oil to overflow at a storage tank at same pump station. About 210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels) overflowed from the tank into a lined containment area on the ground.
Compiled by Yereth Rosen, writing by Bill Rigby, editing by Maureen Bavdek
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