Drift River Terminal Facility
Encyclopedia
Oil depot
An oil depot is an industrial facility for the storage of oil and/or petrochemical products and from which these products are usually transported to end users or further storage facilities...
which holds crude oil before it is loaded onto oil tankers and transported to refineries. It is located in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
along Cook Inlet
Cook Inlet
Cook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....
, at the terminus of the Drift River, an historic floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
of nearby volcanic Mount Redoubt
Mount Redoubt (Alaska)
Mount Redoubt, or Redoubt Volcano, is an active stratovolcano in the largely volcanic Aleutian Range of the U.S. state of Alaska. Located in the Chigmit Mountains , the mountain is just west of Cook Inlet, in the Kenai Peninsula Borough about 180 km southwest of Anchorage...
. The facility is owned and operated by Cook Inlet Pipeline Company, a Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
-based corporation owned 50% by Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
and 50% by Pacific Energy Resources. Oil is collected into the tanks via the submerged Cook Inlet Pipeline, which connects the tank farm to the oil fields on the west side of Cook Inlet. Oil tankers load crude from the tanks via a pump station located approximately one mile off shore, known as the Christy Lee Platform.
The tank farm's location has been controversial since the 1989/1990 eruption of Mount Redoubt
Mount Redoubt (Alaska)
Mount Redoubt, or Redoubt Volcano, is an active stratovolcano in the largely volcanic Aleutian Range of the U.S. state of Alaska. Located in the Chigmit Mountains , the mountain is just west of Cook Inlet, in the Kenai Peninsula Borough about 180 km southwest of Anchorage...
, when the facility was flooded by lahars. Concerns were renewed during the 2009 eruptions of Redoubt. Dikes built after the 89/90 eruptions have kept the 2009 flooding away from the tanks, but an adjacent aircraft hangar and runway were damaged.
A major eruption of Redoubt on April 4, 2009 and subsequent flash flood
Flash flood
A flash flood is a rapid flooding of geomorphic low-lying areas—washes, rivers, dry lakes and basins. It may be caused by heavy rain associated with a storm, hurricane, or tropical storm or meltwater from ice or snow flowing over ice sheets or snowfields...
s damaged a generator facility and disrupted plans to remove the remaining crude oil from the facility and replace it with ballast water to stabilize the tanks and protect them from being dislodged during any future flooding. While the facility was again surrounded by lahars, the tank farm itself was not flooded and workers at the facility were not injured. The workers on site were evacuated to a "safe room" complete with food and sleeping quarters, as well as bathroom
Bathroom
A bathroom is a room for bathing in containing a bathtub and/or a shower and optionally a toilet, a sink/hand basin/wash basin and possibly also a bidet....
s and entertainment facilities to wait out the flooding.
On April 5, the Coast Guard determined that the tanks could not be refilled with ballast water after the oil was removed, as the water would then become a hazardous waste
Hazardous waste
A hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...
that the facility would not be able to dispose of properly. Instead, the oil will simply be removed and sent to refineries, with damage to the tanks from further flooding still possible. The Coast Guard will coordinate the oil removal with the Alaska Volcano Observatory
Alaska Volcano Observatory
The Alaska Volcano Observatory is a joint program of the United States Geological Survey, the Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and the State of Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys...
and proceed when it is safe to do so.