In the 1970s, the world's largest construction companies invaded Alaska in a wild rush to build the 800-mile $8 billion trans-Alaska pipeline. Workers by the tens of thousands headed north, hoping to make their fortunes working on the pipeline, in a stampede that dramatically affected Alaska. With the avalanche of big money and new arrivals came new problems: drugs, prostitution, gambling, and violent crime. Rapid economic and social changes ultimately touched the lives of virtually every Alaskan. Journalist Dermot Cole, dean of the Alaska press corps, recalls the best of the pipeline stories with humor, authenticity, and drama.

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

The actual building of the line is described and the controversial issues of environmental impact, timing, planning and accountability are discussed.

Armand Spielman had no idea of the overwhelming task before him! It was March 1969 and Armand had accepted a temporary position as a landman for the company that would build the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. His task–acquire the project right-of-way so that crude oil would flow from the oil-producing fields of Prudhoe Bay to the ice-free port of Valdez where it would be shipped to west-coast refineries. Later, realizing the daunting task at hand, Armand recruited his long-time friend Jay Sullivan. Jay assembled an unlikely group of men who proved that ingenuity, perseverance, and a bit of naivety could get the job done. This is their story–the struggles and obstacles overcome to obtain the land needed to build the great Alaskan pipeline.

Little Did We Know tells the remarkable story of the Trans Alaska Pipeline through the eyes of John Miller, who shouldered responsibility for financing Sohio’s portion of the Alaskan venture that transformed the company from a small, regional oil refiner and marketer into the fifteenth largest US industrial corporation. TAPS, as the pipeline is known, carries crude oil 800 miles from the Prudhoe Bay field on the North Slope of Alaska to the ice-free port of Valdez on the state’s southern coast. Building the pipeline—one of the largest private industrial projects ever undertaken—was an incredible feat of engineering, and for Sohio, of financing. This is a saga about an engineer with no formal training in finance surmounting an onslaught of financial challenges, raising more than $6 billion over a decade—something many thought was well beyond Sohio’s capabilities.

Pipeline Planning and Construction Field Manual aims to guide engineers and technicians in the processes of planning, designing, and construction of a pipeline system, as well as to provide the necessary tools for cost estimations, specifications, and field maintenance. The text includes understandable pipeline schematics, tables, and DIY checklists. This source is a collaborative work of a team of experts with over 180 years of combined experience throughout the United States and other countries in pipeline planning and construction. Comprised of 21 chapters, the book walks readers through the steps of pipeline construction and management. The comprehensive guide that this source provides enables engineers and technicians to manage routine auditing of technical work output relative to technical input and established expectations and standards, and to assess and estimate the work, including design integrity and product requirements, from its research to completion. Design, piping, civil, mechanical, petroleum, chemical, project production and project reservoir engineers, including novices and students, will find this book invaluable for their engineering practices. Back-of-the envelope calculations Checklists for maintenance operations Checklists for environmental compliance Simulations, modeling tools and equipment design Guide for pump and pumping station placement