Low oil prices and low production volumes may pose a threat to the Trans Alaska oil pipeline according to federal officials. A high-ranking federal Energy Information Administration official prices may stay below $100 per barrel until 2030… or later.
But the predictions are in flux.
EIA administrator Adam Sieminski said yesterday at the Alaska Oil and Gas Associations annual luncheon that geopolitical tension could drive prices up much sooner than 2030.
The agency says the trans-Alaska pipeline may face engineering complications if fewer than 300,000 barrels per day are moving through the line, which could result in a shutdown. The pipeline was built to carry 2 million barrels a day.
Currently, production is down to rough 525,000 barrels per day and oil prices are hovering at $60 per barrel.
