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Department of Transportation/Us Coast Guard Documentary “Journey to Pruhoe” 88104 (1975)

1975 · Short film · 24 min

  • Documentary
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Synopsis

This film takes a look at the marine journey to Prudhoe Bay from Seattle and Tacoma Washington in order to develop an Alaskan oil reserve which was to be under contract of Atlantic Richfield Company or ARCO. The Alaskan northern slope remains icy for most of the year and receives little rainfall (:13). Summers are brief and caribou are seen returning to their traditional calving grounds (:25). In 1968, ARCO's operating area in Prudhoe Bay is pictured (:49) and this was part of a large-scale mission to reach some 10 million barrels of oil which were located in natural reserves under the tundra (:58). The pipeline was to be completed in 1977 and required thousands of tons of equipment to be shipped to the area (1:09). In May of 1975, a convoy moved from Houston, Texas through the Panama Canal and around Mexico (1:29) to a port on Puget Sound. A major industrial complex was constructed in Seattle and Tacoma for transport to Prudhoe Bay (1:39). Modules were built in interlocking sections (2:02) These were self-contained fully equipped flow stations, gas injection plants and fuel processing systems insulated with steel encased walls (2:37). The central compressor plant was comprised of 41 separate units (2:47). The process of moving the modules begins (3:30) and it would take about a month to load 30 barges up with modules and 100,000 tons of equipment. These were packed tightly and the modules were welded down in order to prevent damage on the long trip (4:13). Tug boats lead…

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Details

Running time
24 minutes
Collection
Ephemeral Films

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