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Empresas y finanzas

Alaska seeks restart of pipeline to prevent freezing


    ANCHORAGE (Reuters) - Alyeska is seeking approval to temporarily restart a key oil pipeline that has been shut since Saturday to ensure that its contents don't start to freeze in the region's frigid winter climate, the joint information center said in a statement on Tuesday.

    The pipeline has been idled since a tiny leak at a pump station four days ago, shutting in about 600,000 barrels a day of oil production.

    Alyeska, the pipeline operator, and Alaskan officials are seeking regulatory approval for the temporary restart, a measure to keep the oil at warmer temperatures in the pipeline. A restart could become more difficult if the pipeline contents freeze.

    (Reporting by Yereth Rosen; Writing by Joshua Schneyer)