Alaska Pipeline Report Alaska's Economy, Oil and Gas Industry Development, and the Economic Impact of Building and Operating the Trans-Alaska Pipeline

Abstract

Oil was discovered on Alaska's arctic coast in 1968. The strike, which appeared significant from the start, caused great excitement and expectation in Alaska and elsewhere. Planning began immedi ately for construction of a trans-Alaska pipeline to carry arctic crude oil overland to the ice-free port of Valdez on the Gulf of Alaska. But these pipeline plans came into conflict with pending Native land claims and clashed with the environmental consciousness newly emerging in Alaska and the nation as a whole. After almost three years of delay, many problems have been solved and objectives have been met. Other issues remain to be resolved. A major remaining hurdle for the pipeline project is approval under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. That act, besides stating a general policy of environmental enhancement, re quires every federal agency to file an environmental impact state ment before taking any action which may significantly affect the environment. Hearings on the Interior Department's January 1971 draft impact statement made it clear that environmental effects of the proposed pipeline had to be evaluated in the context of a clear understanding of the project's economic impact. As a result, the United States Department of the Interior arranged with the Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research of the University of Alaska to prepare a study of the pipeline's likely economic impact on the state. The report would then be used by the Secretary of the Interior in making his final review of the proposed project. The Alaska Pipeline Report is the report prepared by the Institute of Social, Economic and Government Research (ISEGR) for the In terior Department. While it has been edited and updated for publica tion, it contains all the information contained in the original report. The study deals strictly with ascertainable facts and objective analyses and projections. There is no intent to pass judgment on thepipeline project as a whole. Rather, the purpose of the report is to provide an up-to-date analysis of Alaska's economy and project the impact of pipeline construction on that economy. This ISEGR report was prepared under the direction of Arlon R. Tussing, who is its principal author. Co-authors are George W. Rogers and Victor Fischer. Assistance was provided by Richard Norgaard of the University of California's Giannini Institute and by Gregg Erickson, currently staff economist of the Joint Pipeline Impact Committee, Alaska State Legislature. Prime responsibility for manu script preparation rested with Sandy Betts; Jennifer Christian edited the report and performed helpful rewriting. To make the text as readable and informative as possible, references and footnotes, some of which are extensive, have been included as "Technical Notes" at the end of each chapter. The reader should be aware that much important statistical information and substantive analyses are con tained in these technical notes. Valuable help was provided ISEGR by many individuals in both government and private organizations. Key among them were Harry Morrison and James T. Mccutcheon of the Western Oil and Gas Association; M.J.K. Savage, BP Alaska, Inc.; Bradford Tuck, Alaska Methodist University; Robert Snyder of the ISEGR staff; and John Post and Gary Klockenteger, Alaska Department of Labor. The manuscript was reviewed by Paul Bradley of the University of British Columbia; Walter Mead of the University of California at Santa Barbara; and a number of Alaska state officials, particularly Homer Burrell, Director of the Division of Oil and Gas, and Eric Wohlforth, Commissioner of Revenue. Additional contributions to the report and to better understanding resulted from reviews of the final draft by the Western Oil and Gas Association's Committee of Economists, by top officials and specialists of the state Division of Oil and Gas and the Department of Revenue, and by a cabinet level group of state officials.