Alaska marks Valdez oil spill

JUNEAU, Alaska -- Since the Exxon Valdez caused the worst oil spill in the nation's history, tankers that ship Alaska's crude oil to the West Coast have become stronger, with double hulls and redundant operating systems.

But with the 17th anniversary today of the 11 million-gallon spill, some say the potential for oil spill disasters has shifted onshore. Corrosion in the aging oil supply system is seen by some as a growing threat to the state's pipeline system, as evidenced by a leak on the North Slope this month.

''I think many of us are seriously concerned about the aging and the deterioration of the pipeline and the facilities," said John Devens, executive director of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council.

For five days or more, a transit line operated by BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. upstream of the 800-mile-long main pipeline leaked up to 267,000 gallons of crude from a small hole onto the tundra.

The oil business has been lucrative in Alaska since crude began flowing from the North Slope via the pipeline in the 1970s. But the leak in the transit line has caused some observers to worry about the condition of the entire pipeline system.

The main pipeline, which stretches from Prudhoe Bay in the North Slope to Valdez in Prince William Sound, will be 30 years old in 2007. Less than half the oil is flowing now than at peak production, but the oil industry and state officials plan on getting at least another 30 years out of the pipeline.