LONDON (dpa-AFX) - BP Plc (BP.LN, BP) is reportedly restoring output at an oil gathering center in Alaska that was closed Wednesday after a fire broke out. The oil giant said the facility was closed temporarily as a precaution and has not yet determined the impact on production. Fire crews at the site did not find any significant damage at the facility.
The gathering center - 2, located in the vast Prudhoe Bay Oil Field in Alaska, was shut down after flames were seen emanating from the facility that is used to separate oil from natural gas and water.
The facility processes 77,000 barrels of oil per day, and is one of six processing plants in the Prudhoe Bay field.
As per reports, employees on Wednesday morning were witness to a fire at one of the two low-pressure gas handling buildings, and also heard a noise.
The affected building did not house any one at the time and there were no injuries due to the fire that was said to have put out itself. The incident did not result in an oil spill, but an inspection was on, reports said quoting the company.
BP is yet to assess the impact on production, but as per the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the facility's shut down has led to a drop in the state's output by about 55,000 barrels per day to 564,699 bpd.
BP's gathering centers are designed to process about 350,000 barrels of raw crude oil per day. The affected facility process oil to be shipped through the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline to the Port of Valdez.
BP is trading at $47.55, down $0.29 or 0.61%, on a volume of 5.5 million shares on the NYSE.
BP.L closed on the LSE at 496.50 pence, up 0.10 pence or 0.02%, on a volume of 16.7 million shares.
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