Editing Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (section)

== Origins ==
{{main|Prudhoe Bay Oil Field}}

[[Inupiat|Iñupiat]] people on the North Slope of Alaska had mined oil-saturated [[peat]] for possibly thousands of years, using it as fuel for heat and light.  Whalers who stayed at [[Point Barrow]] saw the substance the Iñupiat called pitch and recognized it as petroleum. Charles Brower, a whaler who settled at Barrow and operated trading posts along the Arctic coast, directed geologist [[Alfred Hulse Brooks]] to [[Petroleum seep|oil seepages]] at Cape Simpson and Fish Creek in the far north of Alaska, east of the village of [[Barrow, Alaska|Barrow]].<ref>Banet, p. 27</ref> Brooks' report confirmed the observations of Thomas Simpson, an officer of the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] who first observed the seepages in 1836.<ref>Naske p. 241</ref> Similar seepages were found at the [[Canning River (Alaska)|Canning River]] in 1919 by [[Ernest de Koven Leffingwell]].<ref>Leffingwell, E.d. [http://www.dggs.dnr.state.ak.us/pubs/pubs?reqtype=citation&ID=3803 "The Canning River region, northern Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 109"], U.S. Geological Surveye. 1919. Accessed June 14, 2009.</ref> Following the [[First World War]], as the [[United States Navy]] converted its ships from [[coal]] to [[fuel oil]], a stable supply of oil became important to the U.S. government. Accordingly, President [[Warren G. Harding]] established by executive order a series of [[National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska|Naval Petroleum Reserves]] (NPR-1 through -4) across the United States. These reserves were areas thought to be rich in oil and set aside for future drilling by the U.S. Navy. [[Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 4]] was sited in Alaska's far north, just south of Barrow, and encompassed {{convert|23000000|acre|km2|0}}.<ref>Bird, Kenneth J. and Houseknecht, David W. [http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/fs045-02/index.html "2002 Petroleum Resource Assessment of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPRA)"], USGS. 2002. Accessed June 14, 2009.</ref>

The first explorations of NPR-4 were undertaken by the [[United States Geological Survey|U.S. Geological Survey]] from 1923 to 1925 and focused on mapping, identifying and characterizing coal resources in the western portion of the reserve and [[petroleum exploration]] in the eastern and northern portions of the reserve. These surveys were primarily pedestrian in nature; no drilling or [[remote sensing]] techniques were available at the time. These surveys named many of the geographic features of the areas explored, including the Philip Smith Mountains and quadrangle.<ref>Smith and Mertie 1930</ref><ref>[http://www.dggs.alaska.gov/webpubs/usgs/b/text/b0815.PDF]{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017053822/http://pubs.dggsalaskagov.us/webpubs/usgs/b/text/b0815.pdf|date=October 17, 2015|title=Geology and Mineral Resources of Nortewestern Alaska}}</ref>

The petroleum reserve lay dormant until [[World War II]] provided an impetus to explore new oil prospects. The first renewed efforts to identify strategic oil assets were a two pronged survey using [[Bush plane|bush aircraft]], local Inupiat guides, and personnel from multiple agencies to locate reported seeps. Ebbley and Joesting reported on these initial forays in 1943. Starting in 1944, the U.S. Navy funded oil exploration near [[Umiat Mountain]], on the [[Colville River (Alaska)|Colville River]] in the foothills of the [[Brooks Range]].<ref>Naske, p. 244</ref> Surveyors from the [[U.S. Geological Survey]] spread across the petroleum reserve and worked to determine its extent until 1953, when the Navy suspended funding for the project. The USGS found several oil fields, most notably the [[Alpine, Alaska|Alpine]] and [[Umiat Oil Field]], but none were cost-effective to develop.<ref>Naske, pp. 245–246</ref>

Four years after the Navy suspended its survey, [[Richfield Oil Corporation]] (later Atlantic Richfield and ARCO) drilled an enormously successful [[oil well]] near the [[Swanson River]] in southern Alaska, near [[Kenai, Alaska|Kenai]].<ref name="Naske247">Naske, p. 247</ref> The resulting [[Swanson River Oil Field]] was Alaska's first major commercially producing oil field, and it spurred the exploration and development of many others.<ref>Roscow, p.53</ref> By 1965, five oil and 11 natural gas fields had been developed. This success and the previous Navy exploration of its petroleum reserve led petroleum engineers to the conclusion that the area of Alaska north of the Brooks Range surely held large amounts of oil and gas.<ref>Roscow, p. 27</ref> The problems came from the area's remoteness and harsh climate. It was estimated that between {{convert|200000000|oilbbl}} and {{convert|500000000|oilbbl}} of oil would have to be recovered to make a North Slope oil field commercially viable.<ref name="Naske247"/>

In 1967, Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) began detailed survey work in the [[Prudhoe Bay]] area. By January 1968, reports began circulating that natural gas had been discovered by a discovery well.<ref name="Roscow10">Roscow, p. 10</ref> On March 12, 1968, an Atlantic Richfield drilling crew hit paydirt.<ref name="Prudhoefacts">[https://dec.alaska.gov/spar/ppr/response/sum_fy06/060302301/factsheets/060302301_factsheet_PB.pdf "Prudhoe Bay Fact Sheet"] (PDF), [[BP]]. Accessed July 15, 2009. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326112358/http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/us/bp_us_english/STAGING/local_assets/downloads/a/A03_prudhoe_bay_fact_sheet.pdf |date=March 26, 2009 }}</ref> A discovery well began flowing at the rate of {{convert|1152|oilbbl|m3}} of oil per day.<ref name="Roscow10"/> On June 25, ARCO announced that a second discovery well likewise was producing oil at a similar rate. Together, the two wells confirmed the existence of the [[Prudhoe Bay Oil Field]]. The new field contained more than {{convert|25|Goilbbl}} of oil, making it the largest in North America and the 18th largest in the world.<ref name="Prudhoefacts"/>

The problem soon became how to develop the oil field and ship product to U.S. markets. Pipeline systems represent a high initial cost but lower operating costs, but no pipeline of the necessary length had yet been constructed. Several other solutions were offered. [[Boeing]] proposed a series of gigantic 12-engine tanker aircraft to transport oil from the field, the [[Boeing RC-1]].<ref>Naske, p. 256</ref> [[General Dynamics]] proposed a line of tanker [[submarine]]s for travel beneath the [[Arctic ice pack|Arctic ice cap]], and another group proposed extending the [[Alaska Railroad]] to Prudhoe Bay.<ref>Naske, pp. 256–257</ref>

To test this, in 1969 [[Humble Oil]] and Refining Company sent a specially fitted oil tanker, the {{SS|Manhattan|1962|6}}, to test the feasibility of transporting oil via ice-breaking tankers to market.<ref>Gedney, Larry and Helfferich, Merritt. [http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF6/639.html "Voyage of the Manhattan"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050213143119/http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF6/639.html |date=February 13, 2005 }}, Alaska Science Forum. December 19, 1983. Accessed June 14, 2009.</ref> The ''Manhattan'' was fitted with an ice-breaking bow, powerful engines, and hardened propellers before successfully traveling the [[Northwest Passage]] from the Atlantic Ocean to the Beaufort Sea. During the voyage, the ship suffered damage to several of its cargo holds, which flooded with seawater. Wind-blown ice forced the ''Manhattan'' to change its intended route from the [[M'Clure Strait]] to the smaller [[Prince of Wales Strait]]. It was escorted back through the Northwest Passage by a [[Canadian Coast Guard]] icebreaker, the [[CCGS John A. Macdonald|CCGS ''John A. Macdonald'']]. Although the ''Manhattan'' transited the Northwest Passage again in the summer of 1970, the concept was considered too risky.<ref>Kavanagh, Dave. [http://sunshiporg.homestead.com/manhattan.html "S.S. Manhattan & the Northwest Passage"], sunshiporg.homestead.com. July 12, 2005. Accessed June 14, 2009.</ref>