Political Quotes

“I rise today for myself and fellow Alaska Senator Ted Stevens to introduce legislation concerning a complex issue, the Quality Bank that is used to facilitate payments between shippers using the Trans-Alaska Oil Pipeline System to reflect variations in the value of different crude oil streams that are injected into the pipeline. Since its opening in June 1977, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, TAPS, has carried crude oil from Alaska's North Slope to Valdez where the oil is shipped to market. The pipeline carries crude oil from various sources and of varying quality--the oil injected into the line before the pipeline's Pump Station One near Deadhorse, AK, and commingled as the blended stream of oil travels south to Valdez. The TAPS Quality Bank was established to compensate producers of higher quality crude oil for the difference in the value of the crude injected at the North Slope and that of the lower-quality commingled stream received in Valdez, since each shipper receives a quantity of the blended stream equivalent to the amount it injected into the line. Companies injecting low-quality crude oil pay into the Quality Bank, while companies injecting high quality crude receive a payment from the Quality Bank.…”