We're talking about the loss here, by the way, of 400, 000 barrels of oil every day while the flow is shut down in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay oil field.

NPR: Marketplace Report: Prudhoe Pipeline Shutdown

In addition, the firm had to close part of its Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska earlier this year, after leaks were discovered in one of its pipes.

BBC: NEWS | Business | BP faces fines after Texas blast

Browne was no doubt referring to last year's temporary closure of some operations at the Prudhoe Bay oil field in Alaska, delays to the opening of BP's Thunder Horse platform in the Gulf of Mexico, and problems stemming from the 2005 explosion at a Texas refinery that killed 15 BP employees.

FORBES: BP Loses Steam

Boone Pickens points out, that's the size of the largest oil field the U.S. has ever had--Alaska's Prudhoe Bay.

FORBES