The Alaska Pipeline
by Allison Wilson
A man standing by the pipeline
(photo taken at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art)
The Alaska Pipeline is an estimated 800 miles long. It tookfive years to complete the building of the pipeline, from 1974to 1979. In all it cost eight billion dollars for the cost ofbuilding the pipeline, that's one billion dollars for every oneone hundred miles (one mile equals ten thousand dollars)! Thepipeline starts at Prudhoe Bay, and its end terminus is in Valdez.There are nine pump stations between the start and in terminusof the pipeline. These pump stations control the amount and maintainthe oil flow. Living quarters are provided for the workers becausethe oil runs constantly!
Norman Wells pipeline in Canada which brought very
oil to Alaska during World War II.
(Scanned photo from the archives of the Anchorage
Museum of History and Art, B88.52.100)One barrel of oil equals forty-two U.S. gallons. Before youcan put oil into the pipeline, natural gas and water are separatedfrom the oil. A device called a "PIG" is placed in thepipeline for all different reasons. There's a smart pig; it'sjob is to go through the pipeline to find leaks or damages inthe pipe. The dumb pigs scrape the crud off the pipe. Those arethe main pigs. There are others which are made for special things.Here are the names of a few: ultra sonic pig, magnetic pig, scraperpig, performance pig, curosian pig, and curvature pig. To putoil through the pipe you first have to put oxygen, then nitrogen,any kind of pig, then finally the oil. That way you can purgethe pipeline whith oxygen. This process is only done every 3 monthsor 4 times a year.
The Alaska Pipeline Service Company is owned by seven oil companies:Amerado Hess Pipeline Corporation, Arco Tranportation
Alaska, British Petroleum Inc, Exxon Pipeline Company, Mobil AlaskaPipeline Company, Phillips Alaska Pipeline Corporation and UNOCALPipeline Company. These oil companies bid nine hundred milliondollars, for State oil and gas leases at Prudhoe Bay at its inception.
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Exploration well on the North Slope, south of Barrow
(Scanned photo from the archives of the
Anchorage Museum of History and Art, B89.43.1)
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