The Observer, July 2007
Alyeska system marks a milestone
The trans-Alaska pipeline and the tanker terminal at its southern end in Valdez turned 30 this summer.
Since oil flow began on June 20, 1977, the system has moved more than 15 billion barrels of North Slope crude, according to Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. That was enough to make up 19,000 tanker loads.
Building the 800-mile line from Prudhoe Bay to salt water in Prince William Sound cost $8 billion, took three years, and employed some 70,000 people.
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, which completed its 30th year of operation on June 20, has moved over 15 billion barrels of North Slope crude oil. The system includes the pipeline itself, left, and the Valdez tanker terminal, right. Photos by Stan Jones, citizens’ council.
Alyeska is a non-profit corporation set up to operate the pipeline and terminal, known as the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, on behalf of the major North Slope oil producers. Most of the system is owned by ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, and BP.
The citizens’ council was established after the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill to provide oversight of the terminal and the tankers that use it.
“We’ve seen a lot of progress on both prevention and response since pipeline startup, particularly after the Exxon Valdez,” said John Devens, executive director of the council. “But we must also remember that the system is 30 years old and at the beginning none of us thought oil would still be flowing by this time.”
The council is funded through a long-term contract with Alyeska. Besides giving the council operating money until the oil runs out and the pipeline is decommissioned, the contract includes express provisions guaranteeing the council’s independence from Alyeska.