Triple Diamond Energy Corp. operates out of the oil rich states of Texas and Oklahoma – states that many Americans consider the primary oil sources of the United States. Like Texas and Oklahoma, Alaska is another U.S. state that is rich in oil. Presently, the oil fields in Alaska are a mostly untapped natural resource that many Americans hope to utilize for fuel in the near future.  Even without utilizing these untapped resources, the United States has depended on Alaska for 17% of its domestic crude oil for more than three decades. If it were not for the massive Alaskan Pipeline, the United States could not benefit as it does from this enormous Alaskan reserve.

In 1968 a huge reserve of oil was discovered at Prudhoe Bay in Northern Alaska.  This discovery prompted many different major oil corporations to combine their resources in order to create an efficient way to get petroleum to consumers.  The five major oil corporations at the time determined that the most efficient way to transport the oil would be to create a massive pipeline that would lead from the bay all the way to the port of Valdez. 

The Massive Alaskan Pipeline

The Alaskan pipeline stretches from the oil source to the nearest ice-free port in the North East. The completed pipeline is 48 inches in diameter and spans more than 800 miles.  It goes across three major mountain ranges and hundreds of Alaskan rivers and streams.  In many places, the pipeline had to be elevated so that the heat emanating from the pipes would not melt the layer of permanently frozen soil under which it ran.

The companies decided that they would share the rights to use the pipeline and the profits gained from the pipeline. Once an agreement was reached, they hired the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company to build and maintain the pipeline.  The grand total to create the enormous pipeline was over 8 billion dollars and held the record for the largest privately financed construction ever.

Contributors to the Development of the Alaskan Pipeline

The companies that invested in the Alaskan pipeline received a percentage of rights and profits based on their initial investment.  British Petroleum received 46.93%, ConocoPhillips comes in second with 28.29%. Next is ExxonMobil at 20.34%. Kocho is second to last with a 3.08% share in the pipeline and Unocal comes in last with 1.36%.  These companies work together to make sure that their private contracting company, the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, keeps the pipeline running smoothly. 

The Alaskan Pipeline Today

The 40 billion gallons of oil coursing through its infrastructure each day supply nearly 500 billion gallons of oil to Americans. The Trans Alaska Pipeline System is important not only because of its benefit to United States consumers and corporations, but also because of its large contribution to the Alaskan state government and Alaska residents. In return for the use of their land for pipeline construction, Alaskan natives receive annual royalties from the oil production.