Happy 47th Anniversary to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline…Enviros Want to Demobilize You!

June 21, 2024

Yesterday marked the 47^th anniversary of the first barrels of oil flowing down the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS).  The 800-mile connection – between Prudhoe Bay in the north and the port city of Valdez in the south – makes up the heartbeat of the oil and gas industry in Alaska.

Over the past 47 years, nearly 19 billion barrels have flowed through TAPS.  That oil has helped to power American energy independence, led to nearly one-sixth of all private-sector jobs in Alaska, and funded much of Alaska’s state government. 

As most Alaskans celebrate the importance of TAPS to the state, a small number want to tear it down.

Last week, a group of Alaskan and national environmental organizations – funded by Outside ideologues – filed a petition with the Department of Interior to fund an environmental impact study for “dismantlement, removal and restoration” of TAPS.

Claiming that TAPS contributes to a “climate crisis”, the groups are asking Interior to accelerate the end of the pipeline, in an effort to save Alaska from further climate destruction.

They conveniently overlook that doing so would cripple Alaska’s economy, or leave thousands of workers without jobs.  They dismiss the benefits that TAPS – and the producers who send their oil through it – bring to the state through education and philanthropic activities. 

To the radical environmentalists, TAPS is just a piece of their overall effort to end oil and gas development in the U.S.

Alaska needs TAPS, and TAPS isn’t through being a large part of our bright energy future.  Power The Future looks forward to continuing to support the men and women of Alaska’s oil and gas industries, and celebrating the 19billionth barrel of oil flowing through TAPS soon.