BPXA Milne Point Unit
Wellpad-C 24” Production Pipeline Upgrade

Position:  Project Lead

Project Description:  Milne Point, a wholly-owned BPXA unit, is an oilfield built on the shoreline of the Beaufort Sea to the west of the larger Prudhoe Bay unit.  Production from Wellpads C, F, and L are combined into one cross-country pipeline to the central processing facilities approximately thee miles away.  The original 14” pipeline was a bottleneck, trapping up to 2100bfpd currently as well as preventing infill drilling and expansion plans on any of those wellpads.  This project sought to replace the 14” pipeline with a larger pipeline, eliminating the bottleneck and enabling future exploration and production in the area. 

Challenges and Successes:  Cross-country pipelining in the arctic is an extraordinarily unique facet of the pipeline industry.  Completing the project safely, economically, and predictably are the ultimate goals.  Among the many environmental challenges, from seasonally-dictated construction schedule constraints; to the often fierce, brutal North Slope weather that is dangerous to both personnel and projects; to protecting the fragile tundra ecosystem from the slightest harm; there are also the logistics of getting manpower and miles of steel to the end of the earth, the permitting hurdles that require an experienced perspective and calm negotiation, and the project management acumen required to deliver all of this and, by the way, to orchestrate the design, engineering, procurement, fabrication, funding, installation, commissioning, and turnover, all within one year of initial project funding.  Those were the challenges.  The successes were bringing the project in safely, on-time, under-budget, with great cooperation from the broad team of contractors and vendors and to the great satisfaction of the client.  It all followed from the proper vision and the proper leadership.

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