UK oil giant BP is shutting down its Alaskan oil field, after test results revealed “severe corrosion” in a pipeline.
The move is set to take 400,000 barrels per day off the market. The Prudhoe Bay oil field is the largest in the United States, supplying 8 percent of domestic oil production. The shut down follows a spill at the field in March, triggering heightened checks by regulators, who now require the company to use high tech tests to check its pipes for corrosion. BP says it won't resume operation of the field until it is declared safe and poses no threat to the environment.