The story behind the greatest oil discovery success of last century and the building of the Trans Alaska pipeline. This book details and celebrates a colossal oil exploration feat and a world-class engineering and construction project. Discovery at Prudhoe Bay - is the story behind the greatest North American oil discovery success ever the Prudhoe Bay discovery in Alaska and the building of the Trans Alaska pipeline. Author and geologist John Sweet was a district explorationist with the company that made the discovery, and his book details and celebrates the colossal oil exploration feat and world-class engineering and construction project. Sweet's writings offer a first-person account of oil exploration work in interior Alaska and the inherent difficulties involved, including freezing cold temperatures, permafrost and unusual geography. The book also gives insight into the operations of large oil companies and the resourceful ways that they worked, often together, to ascertain the existence of the huge oil reserves. Sweet's narrative also establishes the area's historical and geological background. The book begins with a look at the topography and geology of the region, and discusses the early geologic studies that were done, particularly the surveys done by the USGS in the early part of the twentieth century. It examines the explorations of hermit explorer Dr. Leffingwell, who became an icon in the history of geologic studies of Arctic Alaska. Chapter three looks at the first oil activity in the region, which occurred in 1915 to 1921, surrounding the investigation of oil seepages in the area. Chapter four examines the activities in the mid 1920s, during which time the Bureau of Engineering in the U.S. Navy invited the United States Geological Survey to begin to explore and document the geography and geology of the recently established Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4. The next significant activity occurred around 1944, when World War II and the need for fuel for ships became the catalyst for an unprecedented effort to evaluate the petroleum potential of Naval Petroleum Reserve Number 4. Chapter six goes into when the Richfield oil company discovered the Swanson River Oil Field on the Kenai Peninsula in 1957. Chapters seven, eight and nine look at the various oil companies who were doing exploration into the region, following the Swanson discovery. Chapter ten further focuses on oil exploration. Chapter eleven goes into ARCO's decision of whether to drill or not, following the lack of success by other companies in that area. Chapters twelve, thirteen fourteen detail the events that occurred with the drilling of the first Prudhoe Bay wells; and chapter fifteen focuses on the building of the pipeline. There are virtually no other books in publication that offer readers such a personal glimpse into the discovery at Prudhoe Bay. John Sweet offers clear and complete accounts of the historical goings-on at the time. There are maps, figures and photographs throughout the book. And the book also includes an extensive index, an appendix and a list at people involved with the discovery. This book will appeal particularly to Alaskan buffs, historians, adventure seekers, geologists as well as those with no knowledge of the Prudhoe Bay discovery story.

Text and photographic documentation of the effects on the land and the people of the building of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline.

"Nothing has changed Alaska as swiftly or as traumatically as the discovery of oil. In Extreme Conditions: Big Oil and the Transformation of Alaska, Pulitzer Prize-winner John Strohmeyer writes a riveting account of how it all happened. From the icy North waters, Strohmeyer takes the reader to the inside world of post-oil Alaska and shows what tumultuous changes--for good and bad--this gusher of money and influx of people have had upon America's last great frontier. The enduring relevance of this work makes it indispensable reading in understanding the current tensions among environmentalists, businesses, and Natives that characterize Alaska today."--Back Cover.

In 1969, an icebreaking tanker, the SS Manhattan, was commissioned by Humble Oil to transit the Northwest Passage in order to test the logistical and economic feasibility of an all-marine transportation system for Alaska North Slope crude oil. Proposed as an alternative to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, the Manhattan made two voyages to the North American Arctic and collected volumes of scientific data on ice conditions and the behavior of ships in ice. Although the Manhattan successfully navigated the Northwest Passage—closing a five-hundred-year chapter of Arctic exploration by becoming the first commercial vessel to do so—the expedition ultimately demonstrated the impracticality of moving crude oil using icebreaking ships. Breaking Ice for Arctic Oil details this historic voyage, establishing its significant impact on the future of marine traffic and resource development in the Arctic and setting the stage for the current oil crisis.

In 1977 oil began to flow south from the Arctic through the controversial Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). This study considers the TAPS proposal and controversy as an extension (even a culmination) of established processes, policies, and attitudes within Alaska history, American environmental history, and the history of conservation. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

In The Last Alaskan Barrel, the author analyzes whether Arctic Alaskan North Slope oil was worth the investment risk for the companies and shareholders that risked billions of dollars to make it happen. His results challenge universally held beliefs about exorbitant profits in Alaska. The Last Alaskan Barrel begins with abridged histories of Alaska and the oil age leading to exploration of the Arctic. In 1969, a year after the dramatic discovery of large oil deposits near Prudhoe Bay, a White House Cabinet Task Force commissioned by President Richard Nixon claims the nation is swimming in cheap Alaskan crude. An updated federal study just two months before the start of production in summer 1977 contradicts the earlier White House Cabinet Task Force. Over the next decades, oil prices, development costs, and a variety of taxes shrink the size of the prize. The book concludes with a glimpse at future oil and natural gas potential in Arctic Alaska. Through a combination of extensive research and personal experience, John M. Miller provides facts to challenge opinion. This book is a first-of-its-kind case study that calculates the profit from the largest petroleum development in North American history and how it was shared among the state of Alaska, the federal government, and oil companies. Today, petroleum is coming from more remote, costly, challenging, and government-controlled sources worldwide. Understanding the fifty-year investment life of Alaska North Slope oil finally brings unemotional clarity to the complex world of petroleum economics.

U.S. Arctic waters north of the Bering Strait and west of the Canadian border encompass a vast area that is usually ice covered for much of the year, but is increasingly experiencing longer periods and larger areas of open water due to climate change. Sparsely inhabited with a wide variety of ecosystems found nowhere else, this region is vulnerable to damage from human activities. As oil and gas, shipping, and tourism activities increase, the possibilities of an oil spill also increase. How can we best prepare to respond to such an event in this challenging environment? Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment reviews the current state of the science regarding oil spill response and environmental assessment in the Arctic region north of the Bering Strait, with emphasis on the potential impacts in U.S. waters. This report describes the unique ecosystems and environment of the Arctic and makes recommendations to provide an effective response effort in these challenging conditions. According to Responding to Oil Spills in the U.S. Arctic Marine Environment, a full range of proven oil spill response technologies is needed in order to minimize the impacts on people and sensitive ecosystems. This report identifies key oil spill research priorities, critical data and monitoring needs, mitigation strategies, and important operational and logistical issues. The Arctic acts as an integrating, regulating, and mediating component of the physical, atmospheric and cryospheric systems that govern life on Earth. Not only does the Arctic serve as regulator of many of the Earth's large-scale systems and processes, but it is also an area where choices made have substantial impact on life and choices everywhere on planet Earth. This report's recommendations will assist environmentalists, industry, state and local policymakers, and anyone interested in the future of this special region to preserve and protect it from damaging oil spills.

During the summer of 2010, Dominic and his tandem bike are crossing the country with a colorful bunch of elderly, disabled, or infirm people who, for the most part, would find the journey difficult or impossible to do alone. The core values of this new journey remain the same: To travel. To share. To inspire.