By Steve Quinn
JUNEAU, Alaska, March 2 (Reuters) - Investigators arereviewing the cause of an oil production pipeline breach onAlaska's North Slope where upwards of 4,000 gallons (15,100liters) of fluid spilled, state officials said on Monday.
The production facility is jointly owned by Hilcorp and BPAlaska, but it is operated by Hilcorp, which took overoperations from BP in November when that company sold off someof its Alaska assets.
The ruptured line sprayed the fluid - made up of oil,natural gas and water - on Saturday over an area covering about38,000 square feet (3,500 square meters), according to aDepartment of Environmental Conservation report on Monday.
Spray covered a gravel pad and some tundra area, but therewere no reports of any wildlife being affected, the report said.
DEC specialist Brad Dunker said his office did not receiveany further updates on what caused the 6-year-old line to burstas office staff arrived at the site on Monday.
Blizzard-like conditions delayed initial cleanup efforts,according to a DEC news release.
Lori Nelson, the external affairs manager for Hilcorp, saidthe company was able to first plug the hole then build a bypassto re-establish flow within the line.
(Additional reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing byJoseph Radford)
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