Pipeline Quick Facts

• The Trans Alaska Pipeline System was designed and constructed to move oil from the North Slope of Alaska to the northern most ice-free port in Valdez, Alaska.
• Length: 800 miles.
• Diameter: 48 inches.
• Crosses three mountain ranges and over 800 rivers and streams.
• Cost to build: $8 billion in 1977, largest privately funded construction project at that time.
• Construction began on March 27, 1975 and was completed on May 31, 1977.
• First oil moved through the pipeline on June 20, 1977.
• Over 15 billion barrels have moved through the Trans Alaska Pipeline System.
• First tanker to carry crude oil from Valdez: ARCO Juneau, August 1, 1977.
• Tankers loaded at Valdez: 19,625 through April 30, 2008.
• Storage tanks in Valdez- 18 with total storage capacity of  9.1 million barrels total.
• The mission of Alyeska’s Ship Escort Response Vessel System is to safely escort tankers through Prince William Sound.

Last updated May 9, 2008