Tuesday 31st May 1977

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) was completed. TAPS includes the trans-Alaska crude-oil pipeline, 12 pump stations, several hundred miles of feeder pipelines, and the Valdez Marine Terminal. TAPS is one of the world’s largest pipeline systems. It is commonly called the Alaska pipeline, trans-Alaska pipeline, or Alyeska pipeline, (or the pipeline as referred to in Alaska), but those terms technically apply only to the 800 miles (1,287 km) of the pipeline with the diameter of 48 inches (122 cm) that conveys oil from Prudhoe Bay, to Valdez, Alaska. The crude oil pipeline is privately owned by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. Several notable incidents of oil leakage have occurred since, including those caused by sabotage, maintenance failures, and bullet holes. The pipeline has shipped approaching 20 billion barrels (2.5×109 m3) of oil.