For more than three decades, the oil and gas industries on Alaska’s North Slope have provided unique employment opportunities as well as an important market for oil country tubular goods. Despite its harsh weather conditions and strict environmental regulations, the North Slope offers a variety of benefits for the oil company employees who oversee operations and maintain the miles of oil casing and tubing that comprise the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System.

The following is a look at how the Alaska Pipeline works and what working conditions are like for employees on the North Slope.

About the Alaska Pipeline

The Alaska Pipeline is one of world’s largest pipeline systems, with more than 800 miles of oil casing and tubing. It was built between 1974 and 1977 to transport oil extracted from the North Slope’s numerous oil fields – most notably the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field – to Valdez on the Pacific Ocean, where the oil is stored and used to fill tankers.

Eleven pump stations along the system pump oil through welded sections of seamless piping at a speed of 3.7 miles per hour. On average, it takes about 12 days for oil to travel from the first pump station through the entire length of the pipeline to Valdez.

During its construction, the pipeline required a large investment in oil country tubular goods to create the link from the North Slope’s oil fields to the Pacific Ocean. Ultimately, the project cost $8 billion and more than 30 human lives before its completion; workers endured brutal conditions, including cold temperatures and long hours. The pipeline is owned and operated by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, a consortium of major oil companies such as BP, ConocoPhillips Transportation and Exxon Mobil.

Although the Alaska Pipeline’s maximum capacity is about 2 million barrels per day, it often conveys far less through its miles of oil casing and tubing; in 2008, for example, it carried only 700 thousand barrels per day. Experts estimate that by 2015, the pipeline’s yield will be reduced to 500,000 barrels per day. As of 2010, the pipeline had transported almost 16 billion barrels of oil, filling nearly 20,000 oil tankers since 1977.

Maintaining the Pipeline

Due to the North Slope’s harsh environment and the pipeline’s heavy use, the hundreds of miles of oil casing and tubing must be regularly inspected and maintained to prevent leaks and oil spills such as the 2006 incident in which the failure of a corroded feeder pipe spilled more than 6,000 barrels of oil onto the slope.

In addition to regular air surveys several times a day and foot patrols to check for leaks or settling problems, the piping is largely maintained by mechanical devices known as “pigs,” which are sent through the line to perform specific tasks. For example, the scraper pig travels the miles of oil casing and tubing to remove wax buildup from the oil country tubular goods along the pipeline. Another type of pig contains magnetic or ultrasonic sensors used to detect corrosion.

Working on the North Slope

Since its construction, the Alaska Pipeline has attracted a rugged workforce of employees who are willing to adapt their lifestyles to the remote job location and unusual work schedules of the North Slope. Employees on the pipeline typically spend their downtime in Anchorage and are transported to the North Slope to work for extended periods of time.

Work schedules often consist of one or two weeks on site, followed by one or two weeks in Anchorage, with 10-12 hour workdays. While on the North Slope, employees live in dormitory-style accommodations, with meals provided by a cafeteria. Workout rooms, cleaning service and, in some areas, internet and satellite TV are available.

For many pipeline workers, above-average compensation and benefits packages help make up for the extended time away from their families. Many also enjoy the harsh beauty and wilderness of the region.

Employees on the North Slope are acutely aware that the Alaska Pipeline won’t last forever. When the oil runs out, the oil companies are legally required to remove all traces of the oil country tubular goods used to build the pipeline, restoring much of the North Slope to its original wild state.

[Photo by: James Brooks]