Alaska - Great Trans-Alaska Pipeline

The Great Trans-Alaska Pipeline

The 800-mile, 48" Pipeline runs from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.  Pictures left is, top center, Visitor Information Cabin near Fox; Upper left, The Last Cat train carrying supplies past Anaktuvuk Pass to Prudhoe Bay; upper right, Alyeska Security Helicopters patrolling the pipeline; lower left, Burying the firs piece of pipe at Tonsina; lower right, The 150,000-ton tanker ARCO Juneau and the 265,000-ton tanker Northern Lion taking on oil at Valdez; lower center, Commemorative State at Valdez.
1995

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The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) includes the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 11 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of the world's largest pipeline systems. It is commonly called the Alaska pipeline, trans-Alaska pipeline, or Alyeska pipeline, (or the pipeline as referred to in Alaska), but those terms technically apply only to the 800 miles (1,287 km) of the pipeline with the diameter of 48 inches (122 cm) that conveys oil from Prudhoe Bay, to Valdez, Alaska. The crude oil pipeline is privately owned by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company.

The pipeline was built between 1974 and 1977 after the 1973 oil crisis caused a sharp rise in oil prices in the United States. This rise made exploration of the Prudhoe Bay oil field economically feasible. The project attracted tens of thousands of workers to Alaska, causing a boomtown atmosphere in Valdez, Fairbanks, and Anchorage.

The first barrel of oil traveled through the pipeline in 1977, and full-scale production began by the end of the year. Several notable incidents of oil leakage have occurred since, including those caused by sabotage, maintenance failures, and gunshot holes. As of 2010, the pipeline has shipped almost 16 billion barrels (2.5×109 m3) of oil.