The oil discovered in the Prudhoe Bay oil field in the North Slope region of Alaska in 1968 was the “largest oil field discovered in North America.” In 1969, a Trans-Alaska pipeline to transport oil from the North Slope was proposed by the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System was comprised of three major oil corporations. Despite many other ideas and suggestions to transport this oil, the oil industry reached a consensus in favor of the pipeline proposal of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (Busenberg, 2013). Construction of the Alyeska oil pipeline, also known as the Alaska pipeline or trans-Alaska pipeline, began in 1975. This pipeline was built by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, a group that was made up of seven different oil companies. In certain regions, the pipeline is buried underground, but where there is permafrost, the pipeline is constructed above the ground. The pipeline crosses over 800 river and streams and passes through three mountain ranges. The first oil was delivered from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez on June 20, 1977. This oil had to travel through the 789 mile long pipeline to reach its destination (Alaska Public Lands Information Centers, n.d.). See below for a link to “Pipeline! The story of the building of the trans-Alaska pipeline” video posted on YouTube by the Alaska National Parks service. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmO6loYsm4Q

References

Alaska Public Lands Information Centers. (n.d.). The Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Retrieved from Alaska Public Lands Information Centers: https://www.alaskacenters.gov/the-alyeska-pipeline.cfm

Busenberg, G. J. (2013). The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. In G. J. Busenburg, Oil and Wilderness in Alaska (pp. 11-43). Georgetown University Press.

Above is a map of northern Alaska showing the Prudhoe Bay oil reserve.

Oil reserves in Prudhoe Bay were discovered in 1968 in northern Alaska. The US Department of the Interior conducted an environmental impact statement of the proposed Trans-Alaska Pipeline System in 1972 and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act that allowed construction was signed by President Nixon a year later. The objective of the Act is to lessen American dependence on foreign oil and to increase availablility and access to domestic oil sources in order to provide more crude oil for domestic use.

The 48-inch diameter, 800-mile above-ground pipeline crosses 34 major rivers, three mountain ranges, and 800 mountain streams, causing major construction challenges. Despite these major environmental concerns due to the fragility of the Arctic ecosystem, the need for domestic oil and economic growth overshadowed the concern for the potential destruction of the Alaskan wilderness. Construction began in 1974 and was finished and pumping oil by July 1977. The oil is extracted in the frigid Prudhoe Bay and transported through the pipeline to the significantly warmer Port of Valdez located in southern Alaska. Once at Valdez, it is a much easier task to transport the oil to other US refineries via tankers, ships, and other methods of transportation.

The idea of a pipeline was considered to be the most economical and safe, though that has hardly been the case since the construction. The Arctic has proved to be a very challenging environment to extract and transport oil, especially regarding hot crude oil flow and its impact on the Alaskan permafrost. Since the early 2000s, there has been no short supply of issues that threaten the success of the pipeline and the safety of the surrounding environment. Problems include corrosion, and some places of the pipeline walls have been reduced to half their original thickness, causing the need for the replacement of over eight miles of the pipeline. In addition, there are often shutdowns, spills, fires, and flow reductions that have dramatically effected the environment.

Environmental Issues: Essential Primary Sources. "DOI Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act." GREENR. http://find.galegroup.com/grnr/infomark.do?&source=gale&idigest=6f8f4a3faafd67e66fa023866730b0a1&prodId=GRNR&userGroupName=bucknell_it&tabID=T016&docId=CX3456400114&type=retrieve&contentSet=EBKS&version=1.0.

In 1989, a transport tanker ship called Exxon Valdez hit the shore and spilled over 250,000 barrels of crude oil, causing the worst-ever oil spill in Alaska. This resulted in the death of 5,000 otters, 300 harbor seals, 200,000 birds of nintey different species, and hundreds of fish and other animals. Additionally, it caused a dramatic demise in multiple plant and marine species and ecosystems. Cleanup efforts of the oil spill cost Exxon around $2 billion, which is a small price to pay for an event that altered an entire ecosystem for years to come. For something that is considered necessary for the United States oil supply and economy, the resulting consequences have the potential to obliterate the Alaskan environment and change the Arctic Ocean ecosystems forever. Major oil spills such as this are one of the major concerns for extracting oil in the ANWR.

Environmental Issues: Essential Primary Sources. "DOI Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act." GREENR. http://find.galegroup.com/grnr/infomark.do?&source=gale&idigest=6f8f4a3faafd67e66fa023866730b0a1&prodId=GRNR&userGroupName=bucknell_it&tabID=T016&docId=CX3456400114&type=retrieve&contentSet=EBKS&version=1.0.

This map shows the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), also called the Alyeska Pipeline, that was built in the 1970s with 11 pumping stations that transports crude oil from Prudhoe Bay to Port Valdez. The pipeline cost around $8 billion to build. The link below provides facts on the pipeline provided by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company: http://www.alyeska-pipe.com/TAPS/PipelineFacts

About the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. Accessed April 30, 2017. http://www.treasure-hunt.alaska.edu/ch5/info_pipeline.html.