BP's operations in Alaska

An Anchorage Daily News story on a new head for BP's Alaska operations gives a good overview of the troubled company's challenges in the past year. The ADN reports:

This has been a tumultuous year for [outgoing BP Alaska president Steve] Marshall and BP, which operates the nation's largest oil field, Prudhoe, on behalf of itself and other owners including Conoco Phillips and Exxon Mobil. BP also runs most of the other North Slope fields.

Industry regulators and lawmakers have condemned BP for failing to safeguard key pipelines within Prudhoe against corrosion, which led to leaks and a partial shutdown of the field on Aug. 6, a decision that briefly roiled world oil markets. Federal criminal investigators are probing a major spill in March, and Marshall and other BP executives have appeared repeatedly before congressional committees considering pipeline reforms.

Yet Marshall has a good reputation in the oil industry, the ADN reported, and BP's troubles don't necessarily indicate malfeasance. Among this year's major events:

• Largest oil spill ever on the North Slope -- an estimated 201,000 gallons from a corroded pipeline -- discovered March 2.

• Emergency shutdown of Prudhoe starts Aug. 6 after another corroded pipe leaks. Production cut by nearly half for six weeks.

• Federal criminal investigators, Congress launch investigations into Prudhoe troubles.

• BP reports $2.6 billion profit on its Alaska oil production in 2005.

• Legislature overhauls tax law to collect more oil revenue when oil prices are high.

• Oil companies negotiate state tax contract to spur natural gas pipeline construction, but deal stalls.

All this can give us a context for evaluating BP's website and its other public relations initiatives.