Named after the Aleut word for mainland, The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company operates the 800-mile-long, 48-inch-diameter pipeline that transports crude oil and natural gas liquids from Alaska's North Slope to the marine oil terminal of Valdez in Prince William Sound. Founded in 1970 to make the newly discovered finds in Prudhoe Bay commercially accessible, the company was assigned the task of designing, building, operating, and maintaining the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS). TAPS is owned by a consortium of oil and gas firms, including BP (49%), ConocoPhillips (29%), Exxon Mobil (21%), and Chevron (Unocal Pipeline, 1%).
