Trans Alaska Pipeline

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Well we didn't have any fireworks last night. Guess because it doesn't get dark. We had a beautiful day today. Around 72. Had a little rain this afternoon - saw a rainbow. Charlie, Ruth, Jim and I went north of Fairbanks to see a section of the Alaska Pipeline that is above ground. This pipeline goes from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. It is 800 miles long and is 48 inches in diameter. It crosses 3 mountain ranges and more than 500 rivers and streams. It was built by Aleyska Pipeline Co. in 1977. It cost $8 billion. It was the largest privately funded construction project at that time. Construction began in March 1975 and ended in May 1977. It has 12 pump stations. First oil moved through in 1977. Throughput peaked in 1988 when 2,000,000 barrels of oil per day travelled through the pipeline. It took 4.5 days for oil to travel Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. They now regulate the oil according to need and to maintain the pipeline. In 2011 The Alaska Dept. of Revenue estimated 40 billion barrels of crude oil are available on the North Slope and offshore. There are 124,000 heat pipes to transfer to "super chillers" to make sure ground is frozen year round to steadily support the pipeline. I am going to try to add pictures at the pipeline and pictures of two "pigs". The retired pig was used to scrape wax from the internal walls of the pipe. It weighs 2600 pounds. It was replaced by a polyurethane pig that weighs about 1600 lbs. It cleans the pipe and helps with the flow of oil. These pigs were forced through the pipes by the flow of oil. This was very interesting to us as Jim and Charlie work with pipelines in their business. Thanks to all for your positive comments on the blog.

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