In the early 1950s, Alaska Oil & Gas Development Company offered 300,000 shares of stock at $1 per share, advertising in newspapers.
Original story Years before Alaska became a state, petroleum exploration companies drilled expensive dry holes. The Alaska Oil & Gas Development Company was among them. The Alaska territory’s first commercial oil well arrived in 1957, two years before statehood. The discovery well, drilled by the Richfield Oil Company – today known as ARCO – successfully drilled…
Read MoreTerritory Boom Town — Where Rails meet Sails
Katalla was on Controller Bay and accessible by water if the weather was right. This was rough country, but planned railroad service from Alaska’s prolific interior copper mines promised new opportunities. Unloading supplies at the dock in Katalla, Alaska Territory. Photo courtesy Alaska Digital Archives. As the Alaska Pacific Railway and Terminal Company started building…
Read MoreTrans-Alaska Pipeline: The Engineering Marvel that Revolutionized Alaska’s Oil Industry
The Creation of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorized by Richard Nixon in 1973 The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is an engineering marvel that transformed Alaska’s economy and revolutionized the way crude oil is transported. Authorized by President Richard Nixon in 1973, the construction of the pipeline was one of the largest and most complex engineering projects…
Read MoreOil discovered on Alaska’s North Slope
March 13, 1968 On this day in 1968, oil was discovered on Alaska’s North Slope. The Atlantic Richfield Company and Humble Oil and Refining Company announce the discovery of oil on the North Slope of Alaska at Prudhoe Bay marking a turning point in the history of the state and the United States as a…
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