Dignitaries, #TAPSPride fuel Energy Day at Pump Station 1

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Dignitaries, #TAPSPride fuel Energy Day at Pump Station 1

Monday, June 2, marked one of the most unique and unprecedented days in TAPS history as three federal leaders – U.S. Dept. of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, U.S. Dept. of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin – and others met for the Energy Day event at Pump Station 1 hosted by Alyeska President/CEO John Kurz, PS1 crews, and Alyeska staff. The gathering also included U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, along with other dignitaries and oil and gas leaders from Alaska and beyond (including delegates from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines).

Standing in front of TAPS Milepost 0, Interior Secretary Burgum told a CNBC reporter, “What you’ve had in the background of this shot here is this amazing technological marvel … celebrating its 48th anniversary. This thing was built in two years and two months and it’s been one of the great gifts of technological innovation that’s helped our whole country and helped the world.”

During his comments to the gathering, Energy Secretary Wright, said, “The oil is here. The discoveries are here. If we free Alaska and the people here, we’re going to more than double the oil flow through the pipeline …”

The Anchorage Daily News quoted Senator Sullivan: “This is a very historic moment,” calling Burgum, Wright and Zeldin a “dream team,” then adding, “We’re gonna fill this pipeline up.”

Sullivan earlier said from the stage, “… the real thanks I want to give today is to all of you … the great, tough Alaskan worker. When you look at Pump Station 1, where we’re at, when you look at the Trans Alaska Pipeline, you represent that grit, that ingenuity, that toughness. You’re it. You are the example, not just for our state, but for our country and the world. You’ve done so much – 19 billion barrels of oil have flowed through this pipeline for a thirsty country and for our allies – because of who? Because of all of you guys. … We can get back to a million barrels a day because of your hard work.”

The visit to PS1 was part of a multiday tour of Alaska for Burgum, Wright and Zeldin, who participated in an Alaska energy summit in Anchorage and visited Utqiagvik, and are scheduled as speakers at the 2025 Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference.