River of Oil: The Trans-Alaska Pipeline

J.M. Syken

Course Outline

In this course, we will examine the background and history for the creation of TAPS – the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, which extends for 800 miles, from Prudhoe Bay (on the North Slope of Alaska) to the Port of Valdez (on the southern coast of Alaska). Our review will include the history of oil exploration on the North Slope and the discovery, in early 1968, of the largest oil field in North America. This will also include the formation of the Alyeska Pipeline Services Company (APSC) – a consortium of seven oil companies, to extract/process the crude oil and to design, build and operate TAPS. Included will be the background of the oil crisis of the early 1970s, its causes and effects, and the part played by TAPS in alleviating the crisis.

As well, the concerns of environmentalists and their efforts, at first, to stop the construction of TAPS and, after the passing of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act (1973), their continuing efforts to ensure that the natural environment/habitats of the Alaskan wilderness/wildlife be minimally disturbed. The logistics of housing and supplying a large workforce as well as the infrastructure and material supplies necessary to construct the pipeline itself, along with ancillary facilities (i.e. pump stations, marine terminal etc.) will be examined in depth and detail. The design of the 48-inch pipeline (including portions in both thaw-stable and thaw-unstable soils) as well as road and bridge design/construction will also be of great interest. The impacts of oil spills on both land and water and the long-term prospects of TAPS will also be discussed.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student will:

• Understand/appreciate the growing concerns of the oil industry by the early 1970s concerning the inability of domestic supplies to satisfy ever-increasing demands for crude oil and its many derivatives (i.e. gasoline);
• Understand/appreciate the various sources of energy available in the 1970s and the critical importance of crude oil in that matrix;
• Understand/appreciate the effects of federally mandated emission control standards on automobile mileage and other factors (i.e. delays in bring nuclear power plants online) that exacerbated the domestic oil shortage problem in the early 1970s;
• Understand/appreciate the growing trade imbalance caused by increasing oil imports;
• Understand/appreciate the short and long-term effects of the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973 and its impact on changing the dynamics of the debate as to whether or not TAPS should be built;
• Understand/appreciate the pros and cons of coal – an abundant source of energy native to the U.S., as an alternative to oil;
• Understand/appreciate other/alternate energy options (i.e. nuclear, solar etc.) and their advantages/disadvantages;
• Understand/appreciate the distinguished engineer Y.T. Lin’s Integrated Pipeline Transportation (IPT) system as an alternate to conventional pipeline design/construction and its alternate versions (i.e. Maxi vs. Midi) and its similarities to Lin’s proposed Bering Strait Bridge design;
• Understand/appreciate President Nixon’s role in promoting TAPS and, ultimately signing the legislation that would make it possible;
• Understand/appreciate the concerns for Alaska’s wildlife as a result of TAPS, in particular migrating herds such as moose and caribou and the studies made to minimize impacts on Alaska’s native animal and fish species (i.e. animal crossings, river/stream crossing construction done in winter to minimize disruption, etc.)
• Understand/appreciate the extremes of Alaska’s climate and geography and the difficulties it presented to both man and machine;
• Understand/appreciate the nature of permafrost, its characteristics, fragility etc. and the unique nature of Arctic tundra;
• Understand/appreciate the earthquake hazards present in Alaska, in particular the crossing of the Denali Fault Zone by TAPS, and the engineering design that allows it to resist up to a magnitude 8.5 temblor;
• Understand/appreciate the need to relocate the Port/Town of Valdez to higher ground as a result of the 1964 Good Friday Earthquake/Tsunami;
• Understand/appreciate the use of block valves (i.e. gate, check) to control/minimize oil spills;
• Understand/appreciate the attempt, mainly sponsored by the Humble Oil & Refining Company (ESSO) to reconfigure a tanker as an ice-breaker to establish a route through the Canadian Archipelago (a/k/a “Northwest Passage) to transport North Slope oil via an all-sea route between the east coast of the U.S. and the Arctic Ocean;
• Understand/appreciate the successes and failures of the voyage of the SS Manhattan – the world’s first ice-breaking supper tanker – in the summer of 1969 and the second attempt (1970) to establish a Northwest Passage as an alternative should TAPS not be built due to opposition;
• Understand/appreciate the effort, technologies, infrastructure etc. required to turn the SS Manhattan into an ice-breaker;
• Understand/appreciate Boeing’s RC-1 (Resource Carrier) proposal for a fleet of immense aircraft that could carry 8,100 barrels of oil in twin, wing-mounted pods (a/k/a “Flying Pipeline”);
• Understand/appreciate the role played by U.S. Senator from Alaska Mike Gravel in promoting TAPS to his constituency and legislatively;
• Understand/appreciate TAPS vulnerability to acts of sabotage/vandalism and steps taken to minimize these threats in the wake of several incidents and as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attacks;
• Understand/appreciate the causes/effects of the March 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and cleanup in Prince William Sound;
• Understand/appreciate efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil drilling and the efforts to resist doing so;
• Understand/appreciate the short and long-term effects – pro and con, of TAPS on the State of Alaska; its people and wildlife/wilderness;
• Understand/appreciate the failure of the “Winter Road” (a/k/a “Hickel Highway”) due to poor planning/conception and its serving as a “call-to-action” by environmentalists;
• Understand/appreciate the use of a zigzag pattern for above-ground sections of TAPS as a means to allow for thermal expansion/contraction;
• Understand/appreciate the use of “Heat Pipe” technology for above ground (thaw unstable) sections of TAPS (in Vertical Support Members or VSMs) to remove heat generated by the pipeline from the permafrost below;
• Understand/appreciate the methods/equipment etc. for the burial of the TAPS pipeline in thaw-stable soils and means for anchoring in sub-aqueous conditions (i.e. concrete “horseshoe”);
• Understand/appreciate the need to bury pipe in certain sections (i.e. animal crossings) and the use of refrigeration (circulating brine below the pipe);
• Understand/appreciate the use of insulation on the exterior of above ground pipe and allowances made for lateral and vertical movement;
• Understand/appreciate the logistics of manufacturing, transporting, storing and joining 48-inch diameter pipe for a distance of 800 miles;
• Understand/appreciate the use of “pigs” (probes) to clean pipelines and more sophisticated versions for internal inspection/repair;
• Understand/appreciate the problems of wax build-up, corrosion etc. in operating TAPS;
• Understand/appreciate the decreasing “through-put” of TAPS and steps taken to mitigate the problem of declining oil production in Prudhoe Bay;
• Understand/appreciate studies made before, during and after by both public and private entities to study and document the short and long-term effects of TAPS construction on land, rivers/streams and Prince William Sound (i.e. Biome Project, JFWAT);
• Understand/appreciate the effects of the M7.9 Denali Earthquake on TAPS;
• Understand/appreciate the various habitats (i.e. Tundra, wetlands etc.) TAPS passes through on its long journey from sea-to-sea;
• Understand/appreciate the construction of the “Haul Road” (a/k/a “Dalton Highway") which parallels the pipeline;
• Understand/appreciate the construction of suspension bridges to carry TAPS across wide rivers and the E.L. Patton Highway/Pipeline bridge across the Yukon River;
• Understand/appreciate the delicate nature of Arctic tundra and the steps taken to minimize damage to it (i.e. workpads);
• Understand/appreciate the controversy/problem of faulty welds and the remediation of the problem;
• Understand/appreciate the various “Discontinuities” (defects) in welds and the quality-control process;
• Understand/appreciate the background/contribution of Pipeliners Local 798 (welders) as the key trade/workmen in the construction of TAPS;
• Understand/appreciate the operation of TAPS’ Pump Stations; equipment, locations etc.;
• Understand/appreciate the creation of the Alaska Permanent Fund (APF) to benefit the citizens of the State of Alaska from the significant revenues realized from TAPS;
• Understand/appreciate the need to monitor “Slope Stability” of TAPS and the surveying methods used to do so;
• Understand/appreciate Alaska’s tremendous wealth in minerals and resources and the efforts to exploit them while retaining its pristine wilderness; and
• Understand/appreciate the on-going legacy of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

Intended Audience

This course is intended for architects, engineers and other design/construction professionals.

Benefit to Attendees

The attendee/s will gain an intimate knowledge and insight into the design, construction and operation of one of the greatest engineering achievements of the 20th Century – the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

Course Introduction

The course includes an in-depth PowerPoint presentation and the viewing of videos.

Course Content

In this course, you are required to view/study the following slideshow and the materials contained in the web pages:

River of Oil: The Trans-Alaska Pipeline (printable handout in PDF, 12 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)

River of Oil: The Trans-Alaska Pipeline (non-printable slideshow for screen-viewing only, 69 MB, see Note A below for downloading instruction)

Note A: Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right-clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader from your computer.

Archival/Documentary Film:

TITLE: The Alaskan Pipeline (Modern Marvels)
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zIgGathgro&t=10s
DURATION: 46:37
TITLE: Journey to Prudhoe (ca. 1975)
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltWUxr4oGdo
DURATION: 24:14
TITLE: Pipeline to the Arctic (ca. 1976)
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9aUv6PKHhM
DURATION: 22:47
TITLE: The Alaska Pipeline (Baker Engineering, ca. 1977)
LINK/S:
Part 1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSTqgstpcZk
Part 2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0DuDu-AmNE
Part 3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEu8zYPlfQU
DURATION: 09:38 / 05:23 / 09:38
TITLE: Trans-Alaska Pipeline Welding (ca. 1976)
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ye-mWsjCl7Q
DURATION: 09:47
TITLE: Trans-Alaska Pipeline Progress Report (ca. 1977)
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcjdrEBSH14
DURATION: 13:52
TITLE: The Alaskan Pipeline (NOVA)
LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIL5PRohXZE
DURATION: 1:06:31

Course Summary

For many Americans, it’s still a living memory – lines of cars waiting for hours to get a few gallons of gas (if they didn’t run out by the time you got to the pump, that is). In the wake of the Vietnam War came the Oil Crisis of the early 1970s, made all too personal by the Arab Oil Embargo of 1973. POTUS Jimmy Carter complained about the “malaise” of the era and it seemed our best days were behind us - the greatness of America was gone. Then came the go-ahead for TAPS – the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. Now, America’s native wealth – in the form of billions of barrels of recoverable crude oil, would be tapped into and brought to market, come hell or high water. It was a call-to-action for not only the oil companies, whose great risks would entail great rewards, but also for the industrial and technological might of the nation and the can-do ethos of the American workman. That spirit would be severely tested in Wild Alaska’s beautiful, but formidable and deadly climate/geography. Some said it couldn’t be done, but it was done, in just three years. Somehow, a giant pipeline project in a remote corner of the world had reminded the world of what America was capable of when its back was against the wall. It seemed the spirit of “Don’t Tread on Me” was alive and well, after all.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following websites:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Alaska_Pipeline_System

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtF-4JvSh8o
(Film – “The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill” – 38:59)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4noZ0OaSyFc
(Film: The Story of Lubricating Oil - 22:04)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5id5JL9vs3k
(Film: Alyeska: The Great Land - 56:17)

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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