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 more than 30 major rivers and streams.
• Cost to build: $8 billion in 1977, largest privately funded construction project at that time.
• Construction began March 27, 1975 and was completed May 31, 1977.
• First oil moved through the pipeline on June 20, 1977.
• More than 16 billion barrels have moved through TAPS.
• First tanker to carry crude oil from Valdez: ARCO Juneau, August 1, 1977.
• Tankers loaded at Valdez: 19,625 through April 30, 2008.
• The mission of Alyeska’s Ship Escort Response Vessel System is to safely escort tankers through Prince William Sound.

Last updated July 8, 2011