Yukon Trail-Off

Since their discovery in 1968, Alaska’s North Slope fields have produced 16.2 billion barrels of crude oil, and have been a vital source of the “black gold” fuelling the American economy. The Trans Alaskan Pipeline (TAPS) was built to carry these volumes from 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle to warm water ports for export, moving barrels 800 miles to ship out of the (relatively) warm water of Port of Valdez on Alaska’s southern coast. Today, however, one of America’s greatest feats of energy infrastructure may be facing obsolescence as a result of waning production from the American Arctic. As volumes through TAPS decrease, as does the pressure inside the pipeline, slowing the surge of oil, increasing transit time, and chilling the crude oil within to temperatures as low as 40 degrees. Some see TAPS tapping out, unless America warms up to the idea of domestic offshore drilling in Alaska’s arctic waters. Download here