Oil giant BP restarted the eastern side of the Alaskan Prudhoe Bay oil field – shut down since August when a leak was found – and expects production to reach 150,000 barrels a day by the weekend, a BP spokesman said on Wednesday.
The eastern side of the United State’s largest oil field ceased production August 10, a few days after a leak was discovered in a corroded pipeline.
Initially, the company expected to shut down the west side of the field as well, but kept that side in operation after determining it could be operated safely. The west side is producing about 200,000 barrels a day.