The stories coming out of Prudhoe Bay, where production has been slashed by corroded pipelines, are an alarming wake-up call that oil companies might soon be fighting public opinion on two fronts.

The major criticism of the industry, until now, has been high prices at the petrol pump caused by a low worldwide production levels – and soaring oil sector profits.

Defence against those charges, made by customers and governments, has been relatively easy because oil companies have been able to point to troubles in the Middle East, and the low profit margins through much of the 90s, which made high-risk exploration commercially unwise.

The latest problem, what appears to be poor maintenance habits, will be much harder to defend. While currently only BP is facing the court of public opinion, other oil companies should be on full alert because corrosion in pipelines is not confined to the oil fields of Alaska.

Australian oil fields have also had their moments of panic when pipes have been found to have been corroding at a faster rate than expected. Generally, the problem is discovered and repairs made before trouble boils over, or the outside world even hears about it.

Those days of keeping maintenance and corrosion problems in-house might be fading thanks to the Prudhoe Bay issue, which has put the US Government, and that country’s motorists, on full alert.

As far as Slugcatcher has been able to determine, BP’s problems are largely those of old pipes. But there have also been disturbing stories about the company opting for low-cost pipe inspection systems, rather than using more expensive processes.

In one case, it was claimed that ultrasound and visual inspection was preferred over the use of internal electronic sensing via a “smart pig” being sent down the line.

BP probably had its reasons for preferring ultrasound over pigs but the inference from critical reports is that it made that choice based on price. In the 1990s, when profit margins were rock bottom, such a decision could be explained. Today, with profit margins going through the roof, such an explanation will not be accepted, especially for operations in such an environmentally sensitive area as Alaska.

From where The Slug sits, it doesn’t really matter what caused BP’s problems, or how it will be fixed. But it is worth noting that a fix, of sorts, is in place and that production will continue.

More ultrasound will be conducted, backed by daily flights along the pipeline using infra-red cameras, and visual inspection of the offending pipe at least 10 times a day.

Two thoughts occurred to The Slug when he read about these extraordinary precautions. First, how much cheaper a pig inspection program must now look. Secondly, what’s happening along other critical pipeline systems.

The first thought is an idle one, and very much a case of a stitch in time. The second is far more pertinent because it addresses the question of peak oil, and not so much whether the world can ever pump more than 84 million barrels a day, but whether old infrastructure can tolerate the load.

So far, the peak oil debate has been all about finding more oil to replace what’s being produced.

With BP’s problems at Prudhoe Bay, we have added another dimension to peak oil. Can what we currently have survive – especially after what appears to have been a decade of costcutting?

Note: The views of Slugcatcher are not those of APPEA.