Stepping up for the environment

Here's a very interesting article I recently read concerning the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline (BTC), which transports oil from the Caspian Sea to the Eastern Mediterranean. The pipeline started pumping oil in 2005, but since its proposal almost 10 years prior, the region's environmentalists have roundly criticized it.

To add fuel to their fire, BP, whose troubles in Alaska continue, leads the consortium that built BTC. This raises a legitimate concern: If BP is facing corrosion problems at its most modern pipelines, such as the Northstar oil field, how can it stop them in older ones?

Thankfully, BP is addressing this problem by making its pipelines environmentally friendly -- an approach it extended to its work with BTC. From conception through completion, the BTC consortium took great care in addressing issues ranging from emissions to corrosion prevention.

The result: The BTC pipeline is coated with a three-layer polyethylene system to help guard against corrosion. This coating is one of several options for corrosion control, which pipeline designers now realize is essential for pipeline longevity and safety.

Without these safeguards in place, pipelines will corrode and leak harmful chemicals into the ground, causing irreparable damage. And though no one likes to root for the perceived 'bad guy,' BP deserves applause for making the environmental effort.