Alaska's oil industry

Alaska's oil industry

Trans Alaska Pipeline
"The 800-mile-long Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is one of the largest pipeline systems in the world. It stretches from Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope, through rugged and beautiful terrain, to Valdez, the northernmost ice-free port in North America. Since pipeline startup in 1977, Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, the operator of TAPS, has successfully transported over 15 billion barrels of oil." 

Offshore Drilling
On November 1, 2001, then Interior Secretary Gale Norton and her senior advisor for Alaska affairs, former Alaska State Senator and oil industry insider, Drue Pearce, announced that "the first oil from federal waters off Alaska" had been produced "at the BP Exploration Northstar project," which "became the first outer continental shelf development project since federal offshore leasing began in 1976 off Alaska" and is "the first buried subsea pipeline in the Arctic to be used for full-time production. The pipeline is buried 7-11 feet below the seafloor to avoid ice impacts." 

"The Northstar project is a federal-state unit located about 12 miles northwest of Prudhoe Bay in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea and includes three federal and five state leases. About 16 percent of the Northstar reserves are allocated to federal leases and would represent approximately $120 million in federal royalty in future years. The federal leases are also within the OCS boundaries that entitle the state of Alaska to receive 27 percent of federal revenues. BP holds a 98 percent working interest in the field. Murphy Oil Corporation holds a 2 percent working interest." 

Norton said that the project was "calculated to produce 175 million barrels of oil – enough energy to fuel nearly 1 million American automobiles for six years." 

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Project
 * Alaska's Future
 * Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR)
 * Arctic Power (pro-drilling group)
 * Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (ASRC)
 * Energy Council (international oil lobby)
 * National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska (NPR-A)
 * Natural Resources Defense Council
 * oil industry
 * Sierra Club
 * Ted Stevens
 * Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS)
 * U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
 * U.S. Department of the Interior

Resources

 * Alaska Journal of Commerce (formerly Alaska Oil & Gas Reporter).
 * Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission, State of Alaska website.
 * Alyeska Pipeline Service Company website.
 * Environmental News Network website.
 * Sierra Club: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge page.

Articles & Commentary

 * "First Alaska Offshore Energy Flows Today," U.S. Department of the Interior, November 1, 2001.
 * Michael Grunwald, "Warnings On Drilling Reversed. U.S. Quickly Revises Arctic Caribou Study," Washington Post, April 7, 2002.
 * Yereth Rosen, "Bush Plans Drilling in Untapped Alaska Oil Reserve," Reuters (Common Dreams), December 13, 2003.
 * Justin Blum, "Alaska Oil Field's Falling Production Reflects U.S. Trend. Technology Postpones the Inevitable At Prudhoe Bay and Other Locations," Washington Post, June 7, 2005.
 * "Alaska hit by 'massive' oil spill," BBC, March 11, 2006: "An oil spill discovered at Prudhoe Bay field is the largest ever on Alaska's North Slope region, US officials say."
 * "BP faces Alaska oil spill probe," BBC, June 8, 2006.
 * Robert Campbell, "BP not criminally liable for Alaska oil spill: CEO," Reuters, June 16, 2006.
 * Anne Sutton, "Bush Urges Alaska on Natural Gas Pipeline. Alaska lawmakers pressured to pass legislation that would advance proposed natural gas pipeline," Associated Press (CBS News), June 29, 2006.
 * H. Josef Hebert, "House lifts offshore drilling ban; energy independence is goal," Associated Press (Boston Globe), June 30, 2006.
 * Steven Mufson, "House Passes Bill Ending Ban On Offshore Oil and Gas Drilling," Washington Post, June 30, 2006.
 * "Bush, Cheney stick noses in Alaska gasline debate," AlaskaReport, June 30, 2006.
 * "Bass, Bradley vote against ending offshore oil and drilling ban," Associated Press (Boston Globe), June 30, 2006: "The plan is designed to allow energy companies to tap natural gas and oil beneath waters from New England to Alaska. It faces a fight in the Senate."
 * "Big Crimp In Alaska Oil Supply. Nearly 8% Of U.S. Oil Production Shut Down Due To Environmental Concern," Associated Press (CBS News), August 2, 2006.
 * Eduard Gismatullin, "Oil Surges Above $76 as BP Shuts Alaska Field, Largest in U.S.," Bloomberg (EnergyBulletin.net), August 7, 2006.