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The Alaska Oil Pipeline 1968 confirmed the year of discovery By “Humble Oil” of North America’s largest oil field On the North Slope of the Brooks Range, A west-to-east Northern Alaskan mountain chain. An area forty miles wide by fifteen miles deep (Although flat as a skating rink) Following the coast of the Beaufort Sea, Located 250 miles up the globe from the Arctic Circle And 1,200 miles south of the North Pole, Between “The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska” And “The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge,” In an area called “Prudhoe Bay,” Alaska. The region was named by Sir John Franklin (A British officer and explorer in the Royal Navy) In honor of his classmate Admiral Algernon Percy (The 4th Duke of Northumberland). To put it in perspective, the Prudhoe Bay oil field Is double the size of the next largest oil field In the U.S.A., which lies in Texas. An interesting feature is that the oil rises to the wellhead Under its geological pressure; therefore, no pumping is required. The oil field produces a million barrels of crude oil, Or forty-two million U.S. gallons, per day. For years, the oil companies and the protectionists Had been embroiled in disputes regarding The environment, law enforcement, and native concerns. With the creation of Earth Day in 1970, Twenty million demonstrators staged organized protests Across the land and their voices rang out, But this would soon change. Oil embargo!— In 1973, by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Acting against the United States of America For supporting the Israelis against the Arabs During the Yom Kippur War, this created world shortages, Causing stock market reactions resulting in skyrocketing oil prices. During the “First Shock” oil crisis, the United States vowed Never to be held hostage to oil dependency and blackmail again. (The “Second Shock” oil crisis occurred in 1979). Both houses of the U.S. government passed legislation Enacting the “Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act of 1973,” Which was signed into law by President Nixon, To build the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) From Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez. This essentially halted all legal challenges against its construction. However, as a result of the opposition to the project, Environmental concerns and regulatory laws were enacted Following the executive order by Nixon in 1970 That established the “Environmental Protection Agency.” The boom was underway; workers flocked to Alaska To secure high-paying jobs and spin-off opportunity benefits, As in the old days of the gold rushes. The route would traverse the heartland of Alaska With steel pipe made in Japan, Consisting of over 100,000 pieces in all (Each piece forty to sixty feet in length, Half an inch thick, and four feet in diameter) Weighing a total of 550,000 tons, Zigzagging its way south for 800 miles (To compensate for expansion, contraction, and earthquakes) From Prudhoe Bay to the ice-free port of Valdez, On the Pacific coast in Prince William Sound. Three years later, after a staggering Eight-billion-dollar price tag and thirty-two fatalities, The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company Completed the megaproject on time. “June 20, 1977: ‘Oil In’ Day” Headlined in the Alaskan newspapers, As hot, crude oil flowed from Prudhoe Bay Via the pipeline Into the Valdez Marine Terminal storage tanks To be pumped into supertankers and shipped To the lower forty-eight states. Located in Anchorage, Alaska, Is the Operations Control Center, Which can initiate an emergency shutdown And stop the flow of oil in the event of a rupture By isolating the pipeline in fifteen minutes Through the use of seventy-one gate valves Incorporated into the pipeline system to open or close To block the flow of oil in either direction, Thereby preventing an environmental catastrophe. Half of the line lies on supports above the ground, Designed with heat sinks to dissipate heat from the soil. This is done to maintain colder temperatures Between the air and pipe during the winter to prevent thawing, Which would create unstable conditions Due to the melting of ice in the permafrost (A thick layer of soil that remains frozen all year round), And for the preservation of wildlife migration routes (Namely, the caribou, which can then pass under it). The other 400 miles lie underground in a padded sand buffer To prevent damage to the pipe by rocks and other materials. Designed in conjunction with the pipeline system are Grounding rods and sacrificial zinc ribbons Strategically placed to reduce the risk of corrosion. Where the line crosses the three strike-slip faults (Aka wrench faults, which is where rocks move horizontally), The pipe rides on Teflon shoes that slide on beams In the event of an earthquake. Devices known as cleaning pigs are discharged into the line To sweep pipe build-ups that precipitate out of the oil stream And could disrupt the flow. Over three mountain ranges And eight hundred river and stream crossings, Eleven booster stations pump to keep the oil flowing In the pipeline that coils like a metal snake Through the environment To the oil port at Prince William Sound (Named after the Spanish naval captain Antonio Valdés in 1790). Ever since the Exxon Valdez Supertanker oil spill disaster of 1989, The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 has mandated That all new Alaskan-class oil tankers, VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers), Be built double-hulled. These supertankers are built in San Diego, USA (941.6 feet long, 164 feet wide, with a draft of 61.7 feet —i.e., two and a half football fields long, one wide, and one-half deep), Carrying approximately one and a half million barrels of oil by sea To the lower mainland and offshore destinations.

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