Shutdown illustrates US oil dependence Asia Times they are watching us

http://atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/HH10Dj01.html
Aug 10, 2006


Shutdown illustrates US oil dependence
By Emad Mekay

WASHINGTON - Despite rhetoric from Washington that the United States must wean itself from dependence on oil, the shutdown of a BP oilfield in Alaska has shown how far the country remains from that goal and the lack of a consensus on how best to achieve it.

BP Exploration Alaska announced on Monday that it had begun a phased shutdown of the Prudhoe Bay oilfield, the largest in the US, after the discovery of unexpectedly severe corrosion and a small spill from a transit line. BP operates about 36 kilometers of oil-transit pipeline at Prudhoe Bay.

The shutdown will reduce Alaska North Slope oil production by an estimated 400,000 barrels per day, or about 8% of US production.
Already hit by turmoil in the Middle East and Nigeria, and with


concerns over Venezuela, world oil futures shot up by about US$2 to $77 a barrel for crude oil. Gasoline prices in the US have already begun to rise as much as 5 cents a gallon (1.3 cents a liter) in some cities. .......