BP to keep half of Alaska field pumping

[RamboLiberal]

http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/11/news/companies/bc.energy.bp.prudhoe.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes

BP PLC said Friday it will keep the western half of its Prudhoe Bay oil field online, enabling the company to get the field up to half its prior output despite pipeline corrosion.

BP (Charts) plans to raise production from 150,000 barrels per day to an expected 200,000, half the field's previous capacity, by the end of August, the company said in a statement.

U.S. lawmakers had castigated the London-based company for letting pipeline corrosion get out of hand.

BP's decision last Sunday to shut down the entire Prudhoe Bay field sent U.S. crude oil futures above $77 a barrel earlier this week - nearing the all-time record of $78.40 in July.

BP officials now say they will continue operating the western segment of the field, allowing the 400,000 bpd field to continue pumping oil to hungry West Coast refiners.