Transportation Proposals


November 17, 2003
Second Proposed Transportation Strategy

Air Transport

Air transport within ANWR will be by either helicopter or plane. 

Helicopters can land on any flat surface, including directly on the frozen tundra if need be, though a helipad off the tundra would be better.  Helicopters used for transportation may not even need to land—it can lower equipment or personnel onto the surface and then leave.  Maximum load: 16 tons, though this data is for military helicopters.  Commercial copters have yet to be researched.  Current research suggests that the helicopters with the largest payloads include the Sikorsky Skycrane (~10 ton load), Chinhook CH-47F (~13 tons), and the Skyhook Super Stallion(~16 ton load)
-sources
http://www.defensedaily.com/progprof/army/ch47.pdf
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/ch-53e/
http://www.evergreenaviation.com/EHI/specsheets/s64.html

Airplanes will also be used to travel within ANWR.  The previous proposal stated that airplanes will not be used because they require airstrips.  However, further research has found that this is not the case.  Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Hercules airplanes can take off and land on ice and snow….no airstrip required.  However, concerns have been raised about ANWR’s snow cover: at only a maximum of 1 ft deep snow, it is not know whether the landing of an airplane will damage the tundra directly under the snow cover.  If this is a problem, frozen lakes may be used instead of snow for landing sites.  C-130: Maximum payload of 20 tons, minimum range of 2,350 miles, average cost (in 1999) $44.1 million.
-sources: http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/factfile/aircraft/air-c130.html
    http://www.lmaeronautics.com/products/airmobility/c-130/specs.html

Transportation to and from ANWR will also be conducted by air travel.  A permanent airfield will be installed to the west of ANWR because drilling will take place in western 1002.  This airfield will be made of gravel, not ice, and will include airstrip(s) and helipad(s).  Arriving planes will transport both people and equipment, which will be unloaded and transported to the drill sites by helicopter, rolligons, or hovercrafts.  Air travel causes extreme noise pollution and may adversely affect bird populations in ANWR, especially during warm months when birds are abundant.  Due to this, air travel will be restricted during summer.  All necessary equipment for the summer will be shipped in during winter and stored.

The existing gravel airfield in Kakovik may be used instead of installing a new airfield, but there are a few problems with that:
-Katovik is on Barter Island, and the fact that there is a water barrier between it and mainland Alaska complicates transportation to ANWR.  Equipment will need to be transported across this water barrier either by helicopter or hovercraft to the mainland, instead of directly by rolligon as it would if there was no water barrier, and this can be a cumbersome extra step.
-Kaktovik is on to the east of ANWR and will be farther away from the proposed drill site than a western airfield.  Though given the small size of ANWR this isn’t that big of a deal, lengthened travel on ground vehicles both increases the impact these vehicles make on the tundra and increase travel time, which may or may not be an inconvenience.


Ground Vehicles
The objective when choosing vehicles is to minimize environmental impact.  Thus, vehicles that exert little pressure and will not pierce the tundra were considered.  Transportation vehicles will include, but will not be limited to, hovercrafts, rolligons, and snow mobiles.

Hovercraft- Hovercrafts, also called air cushioned vehicles, operate by using fans to push air under the vehicle and trapping the air with a skirt.  Thus the hovercrafts lift above the ground.  Ground contact is made primarily by the skirt, which can lightly scrape the surface.  Most hovercrafts are amphibious—they can travel over water, land, ice, snow, and otherwise impossible to reach areas like swamps and mud pits.  Because hovercrafts do not pierce the land they travel, drag is reduced and operating efficiency is greatly increased.  One adverse effect of hovercrafts is noise pollution, but this can be minimized to the noise produced by a typical truck or bus.

Hoverdril Inc. hovercrafts have been previously used to build the TransAlaskan pipeline.  Hoverdril claims that its hovercraft exert an average of 0.33 psi and can pass over bird eggs, tundra rodents, and animal burrows without inducing harm or injury.  If the fans stop working, or if a large part of the skirt is damaged, air will slowly seep out over the course of a few minutes and the hovercraft will make a gentle landing.  Hoverdril hovercrafts may be too big to transport as a single unit and can be disassembled for transport and easily reassembled.  They use a 1:50 oil to gasoline ratio fuel, not diesel.  Maximum payload of 160 tons; these hovercraft will be used to transport large objects that other vehicles cannot.  Operating temperatures range to as low as -57°F.  Most damage to the surface caused by skirt contact is made in the first five passes; after five passes no significant additional damage is produced.  Noise pollution is an unavoidable bi-product of the air-propellers, but can be minimized.
-source: “Environmental Impact of the Hovercraft”, reported by Dan Turner, Technical VP, Hoverdril Inc., 2003.



Alaska Hovercraft model LACV-30 is a small light hovercraft compared to Hoverdril models.  Dimensions approximately 30 ft by 40 ft by 80 ft.  Maximum speed of 45 mph.  Maximum payload of 30 tons.  Fuel consumption at 260 gallons/hour.  Endurance of up to 10 hours.  These hovercraft will be used to transport smaller objects and can also be used for offshore oil exploration, search and rescue operations, personnel transport, water and fuel transport, and fire-fighting.
-source: http://www.ahv.lynden.com/ahv/lacv-30.html



Other hovercrafts may be also used for small object and personnel transport, including summer transport if necessary, rescue operations, and offshore exploration.

Rolligons- Rolligons are off road vehicles that operate on special huge tires designed to exert a low pressure on the surface, specifically around 3 psi.  Though this is a higher pressure compared to hovercrafts, it’s still a relatively low number, low enough for the U.S. Department of Energy to call it an “ultra-low impact vehicle”.  Rolligons have a maximum payload of 30 tons.  Maximum speed around 20 mph.  Rolligons can be used to transport small drill rigs and even drill platforms.  Objects that are too large will be transported by hovercraft.  Rolligons do not require roads, and so no roads may be necessary.
-source: http://www.rolligon.com

A note on fuel: diesel fuel will be undoubtedly needed for vehicle operation.  There is a new ultra-low sulfer content diesel fuel that drastically reduces particle emissions.  This fuel will be used for vehicle operation in ANWR.
-source: Petroleum News Alaska April 7, 2001 vol. 7 no. 14 pg 12

Snow Mobiles- There are some snow traveling vehicles that are not specialized to oil drilling which may be used for ground passenger transport.  Snow mobiles may be more feasible to use for short-distance personnel transport than helicopters or hovercraft.  However, snow mobiles are designed to travel on snow, so they will not be used in the summer months.  None of the snow mobiles require roads, but they will not be allowed to roam the 1002 area freely; they will follow set routes.  There are two types of such vehicles: track and tired vehicles.

Track vehicles include snow coaches, also called snow cats.  These vehicles run on diesel or gasoline and use either metal or rubber tracks to grip the snow.  They are mostly used to transport passengers—8 to 16 people at a time—and are not meant for heavy equipment transport, even though they have the capacity to tow additional units.  Snow cats are stable over rough terrain and steep slopes.  They are common, non-specialized snow vehicles and are only meant to travel on snow covered areas.  These vehicles will not be used during the summer.  Snow cats have a fuel consumption of ~2-5 miles/gallon, and each vehicle costs around $70,000 to $210,000.

Tired vehicles include snow buses, also called tundra buggies.  These vehicles are like buses and are also used for passenger transport.  Snow buses use big tires, similar to rolligons, to distribute weight evenly.  They have a larger passenger capacity at around 50 people.  Fuel consumption of ~3-5 miles/gallon, each vehicle costs around $420,000-$670,000.

-source: http://www.fta.dot.gov/library/policy/fedland/v1/snow.pdf

Roads

Given that hovercraft and rolligons may be transporting most of the equipment, access roads may not be needed at all.  But these ground vehicles will not be allowed to roam freely.  Transport routes will be mapped out and set, similar to a road without the physical presence of a road.  All transport vehicles will have a Global Positioning Service (GPS) device to guide the drivers/pilots along the set routes.

If access roads within ANWR are absolutely needed, ice roads will be built.  Ice roads are constructed every year for winter use and melt away with the warming of the weather.  Because they melt, ice roads leave a minimal physical footprint.  Environmental impacts of the ice roads mostly concern the fresh water necessary to build the road and where the water goes after it melts.  It is estimated that ice roads require about 1.5 million gallons per mile.  In the past, water was taken from nearby rivers and lakes, but excessive water removal can be dangerous to marine life.  It is possible to collect snow as it falls and to steam press local snow to form ice, but the feasibilities of these options have yet to be determined, because ANWR doesn’t have that much snow or snowfall.  A new possibility is to use purified sea water for ice roads.  The feasibility of this option is also not yet determined.  In any case, if water removal will cause great damage to the environment, ice roads will not be constructed and set paths by non-road-bound vehicles will be used instead.

A gravel road within ANWR is extremely ill advised because gravel roads cause permanent damage.  Unlike ice roads, gravel roads don’t go away.  They are difficult and often impossible to clean up and they leave a permanent multi-mile scar on the tundra.  They will not be used within ANWR even if ice roads are not an option.

A permanent access road to facilities outside of ANWR may be needed.  These facilities include pipelines, airfields, control centers, and warehouses that may need to be accessed year round.  The permanent road will be constructed of gravel.

Pipelines

Mission has decided not to drill for natural gas or to drill offshore.  Therefore, these pipelines will no longer be considered.

The proposed oil pipeline system will be composed of a network of pipelines connecting between drill sites that ultimately lead to a cumulative single pipeline.  All the pipelines will be heated so to allow oil to flow as a liquid.  The single pipeline will head west out of ANWR and connect to the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) at Pump Station 1.

TAPS is currently operating at only half capacity. Its throughput peaked at 2 million barrels a day in the late 1980s and has ever since been in decline.  Its current throughput is at about 1 million barrels a day, and so it can accommodate another million barrels a day.  (source: Petroleum News Alaska April 7, 2002 vol 7 no. 14 p 13.)

TAPS has four pump stations north of Brooks Range.  Pump Station (PS) 1 is in the North Slope area.  PS 2 is on standby.  PS 3 and 4 are farther to the south.  As currently estimated, PS 1 will be the closest facility to which the proposed pipeline will connect to and so that is where the pipeline will go.

Currently it has not been decided whether the proposed pipeline will be entirely above ground, entirely below ground, or be a combination of both.

Traditionally, pipelines have been installed underground where permafrost is stable and above ground where permafrost is in danger of thawing.  However, because 1002 is such a small region and so far north, permafrost should be more or less uniform and stable.  If so, the proposed pipeline system can be entirely below ground.  However, there are major advantages to above-ground pipes.

Above ground pipelines are easier to access, maintain, construct, and de-construct compared to underground pipelines.  Construction would be modeled off the TAPS as much as possible: vertical support beams to hold the pipeline up, high enough for animals to pass under, zigzag pattern to allow for pipe expansion with the flowing of warm oil, and shifting supports/sliding capacity to allow for movement to accommodate seismic activity (even though the 1002 area is designated as having low seismic activity).  Physical damage to the pipeline or to its support beams can be detected by visual inspection and by smart pigs.  Valves, which tend to leak, may be replaced by vertical loops systems to guard against leakages.

Construction of underground pipelines would require an immense amount of digging into the permafrost, as would de-construction.  Underground pipelines would need to be excavated for leakages and repairs.  In case of seismic activity, however unlikely it may be, the surrounding soil and permafrost may shift and strain the pipeline, increasing the chances of leaks.  Underground oil leaks are much more difficult to clean than surface leaks because the oil flows directly into the permafrost instead of onto an area of snow that can be removed.  Underground pipes do not have the option of vertical loops…they have to use valves, which further increases the chances of leakages.  (source: Pipeline and Gas Journal May 2000 vol 227 issue 5 p 28.)  However, the one advantage of  underground pipelines are that they’d be out of sight for the animals…and thus if the pipelines run smoothly (i.e. no excavations required), it should cause a less of an environmental impact on the local wildlife compared to above ground pipes.

If underground pipelines are used, a refrigeration system will be in place for the entire underground route.  In the past, refrigeration was only used in thaw-unstable permafrost.  However, the unrefrigerated pipelines melted the previously thought to be thaw-stable permafrost.  Therefore, refrigeration will be installed throughout the entire underground pipeline route, regardless of thaw stable or unstable permafrost.

Pipeline distance is to be minimized so as to minimize environmental impact.  Pipelines from some drill sites will be linked to other drill sites, and these sites will serve as small pump stations.  All drill sites will have the capacity to have more pipes connected to it (for future additional drill sites), ability to receive and launch pigs, and the ability to pump the oil.  If necessary, a true pump station will be installed later in the line when or after all the individual pipelines connect to form a single pipeline leading to the TAPS.

Major geographical obstacles along the routes of pipelines, like rivers, may be bypassed by using horizontal directional drilling to install pipelines beneath.  This technique was first used at the Alpine project to cross the Colville River and may be duplicated elsewhere.

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November 7, 2003
Proposed Preliminary Transportation Strategy, proposed to Mission 2007 on Nomber 7, 2003

Ground Vehicles
The objective when choosing vehicles is to minimize environmental impact.  Thus, vehicles that exert little pressure and will not pierce the tundra were considered.  Transportation vehicles will include, but will not be limited to, hovercrafts and rolligons.

Hovercraft- Hovercrafts, also called air cushioned vehicles, operate by using fans to push air under the vehicle and trapping the air with a skirt.  Thus the hovercrafts lift above the ground.  Ground contact is made primarily by the skirt, which can lightly scrape the surface.  Most hovercrafts are amphibious—they can travel over water, land, ice, snow, and otherwise impossible to reach areas like swamps and mud pits.  Because hovercrafts do not pierce the land they travel, drag is reduced and operating efficiency is greatly increased.  One adverse effect of hovercrafts is noise pollution, but this can be minimized to the noise produced by a typical truck or bus.

Hoverdril Inc. hovercrafts have been previously used to build the TransAlaskan pipeline.  Hoverdril claims that its hovercraft exert an average of 0.33 psi and can pass over bird eggs, tundra rodents, and animal burrows without inducing harm or injury.  If the fans stop working, or if a large part of the skirt is damaged, air will slowly seep out over the course of a few minutes and the hovercraft will make a gentle landing.  Hoverdril hovercrafts may be too big to transport as a single unit and can be disassembled for transport and easily reassembled.  They use a 1:50 oil to gasoline ratio fuel, not diesel.  Maximum payload of 160 tons; these hovercraft will be used to transport large objects that other vehicles cannot.  Operating temperatures range to as low as -57°F.  Most damage to the surface caused by skirt contact is made in the first five passes; after five passes no significant additional damage is produced.  Noise pollution is an unavoidable bi-product of the air-propellers, but can be minimized.
-source: “Environmental Impact of the Hovercraft”, reported by Dan Turner, Technical VP, Hoverdril Inc., 2003.

Alaska Hovercraft model LACV-30 is a small light hovercraft compared to Hoverdril models.  Dimensions approximately 30 ft by 40 ft by 80 ft.  Maximum speed of 45 mph.  Maximum payload of 30 tons.  Fuel consumption at 260 gallons/hour.  Endurance of up to 10 hours.  These hovercraft will be used to transport smaller objects and can also be used for offshore oil exploration, search and rescue operations, personnel transport, water and fuel transport, and fire-fighting.
-source: http://www.ahv.lynden.com/ahv/lacv-30.html

Other hovercrafts may be also used for small object and personnel transport, rescue operations, and offshore exploration.

Rolligons- Rolligons are off road vehicles that operate on special huge tires designed to exert a low pressure on the surface, specifically around 3 psi.  Though this is a higher pressure compared to hovercrafts, it’s still a relatively low number, low enough for the U.S. Department of Energy to call it an “ultra-low impact vehicle”.  Rolligons have a maximum payload of 30 tons.  Maximum speed around 20 mph.  Rolligons can be used to transport small drill rigs and even drill platforms.  Objects that are too large will be transported by hovercraft.  Rolligons do not require roads, and so no roads may be necessary.
-source: www.rolligon.com

A note on fuel: diesel fuel will be undoubtedly needed for vehicle operation.  There is a new ultra-low sulfer content diesel fuel that drastically reduces particle emissions.  This fuel will be used for vehicle operation in ANWR.
-source: Petroleum News Alaska April 7, 2001 vol. 7 no. 14 pg 12

Air Transport

Air transport within ANWR will be by helicopter.  Helicopters can land on any flat surface, including directly on the frozen tundra if need be, though a helipad off the tundra would be better.  Helicopters used for transportation may not even need to land—it can lower equipment or personnel onto the surface and then leave.  Maximum load: 25 tons, though this data is for military helicopters.  Commercial copters have yet to be researched.
-source: http://www.defensedaily.com/progprof/army/ch47.pdf

Airplanes will not be used to travel within ANWR because they require airstrips.  Given the small size of ANWR, airstrips are not necessary within ANWR and helicopters can cover the entire terrain.

Transportation to and from ANWR will also be conducted by air travel.  A permanent airfield will be installed to the west of ANWR because drilling will take place in western 1002.  This airfield will be made of gravel, not ice, and will include airstrip(s) and helipad(s).  Arriving planes will transport both people and equipment, which will be unloaded and transported to the drill sites by helicopter, rolligons, or hovercrafts.  Air travel causes extreme noise pollution and may adversely affect bird populations in ANWR, especially during warm months when birds are abundant.  Due to this, air travel will be restricted during summer.  All necessary equipment for the summer will be shipped in during winter and stored.

The existing gravel airfield in Kakovik may be used instead of installing a new airfield, but there are a few problems with that:
-Katovik is on Barter Island, and the fact that there is a water barrier between it and mainland Alaska complicates transportation to ANWR.  Equipment will need to be transported across this water barrier either by helicopter or hovercraft to the mainland, instead of directly by rolligon as it would if there was no water barrier, and this can be a cumbersome extra step.
-Kaktovik is on to the east of ANWR and will be farther away from the proposed drill site than a western airfield.  Though given the small size of ANWR this isn’t that big of a deal, lengthened travel on ground vehicles both increases the impact these vehicles make on the tundra and increase travel time, which may or may not be an inconvenience.

Roads

Given that hovercraft and rolligons may be transporting most of the equipment, access roads may not be needed at all.

If access roads within ANWR are absolutely needed, ice roads will be built.  Ice roads are constructed every year for winter use and melt away with the warming of the weather.  Because they melt, ice roads leave a minimal physical footprint.  Environmental impacts of the ice roads mostly concern the fresh water necessary to build the road.  Often the water is taken from nearby rivers and lakes, but at 1.5 million gallons per mile of ice road and lots of road necessary, this can become dangerous to marine life.  It is possible to collect snow as it falls and also to melt nearby snow to form ice, but the feasibilities of these options have yet to be determined.  There is also the question of is there enough water in ANWR (the place is dry) for both surface operations AND ice roads.  The answer to this question may very well be “no”.  If so, no roads will be constructed and transportation will mainly be conducted by low impact snow traveling vehicles.

A gravel road within ANWR is extremely ill advised because gravel roads cause permanent damage.  Unlike ice roads, gravel roads don’t go away.  They are difficult and often impossible to clean up and they leave a permanent multi-mile scar on the tundra.  They will not be used within ANWR even if ice roads are not an option.

A permanent access road to facilities outside of ANWR may be needed.  These facilities include pipelines, airfields, control centers, and warehouses that may need to be accessed year round.  The permanent road will be constructed of gravel.

Pipelines

Two pipeline systems will be installed, one for liquid oil and one for natural gas.

The oil pipeline system will be composed of a network of pipelines between drill sites that will come together to form one pipeline and head west to connect with the TransAlaskan Pipeline.  The TAPS system is currently running at only half capacity, which is about 1 million barrels a day, and will be able to accommodate another one million barrels a day.  The oil pipeline will be composed of both above ground and below ground components.  Where the permafrost is stable, the pipe will be buried so as to limit above ground disturbances to the environment.  Where the permafrost is not stable, the pipe will be above ground, thereby reducing the risk of permafrost melting.  Where the permafrost is unstable but the pipe needs to be buried anyways, a refrigeration system will be installed to prevent melting of the permafrost.  All pipes will have an internal heating system to keep the oil inside liquid and mobile.  For above ground pipes, a vertical loop leak containment system will replace valves.  Valves actually provide more openings and therefore are more likely to leak.  Vertical loops are just artificial high points in the pipeline that will contain leaks via pressure differences and cascade reactions.  Below-ground pipes are more hazardous because if they leak, the oil goes directly into the soil and permafrost.  This can be mitigated by installing a rigorous pipeline monitoring system to detect leaks right away and seal them off.
-source on TAPS capacity: Petroleum News Alaska April 7, 2002 vol 7 no. 14 p 13
-source on vertical loops: Pipeline and Gas Journal May 2000 vol 227 issue 5 p 28

Transportation of natural gas is a more complicated issue.  Currently no natural gas pipeline exists in Alaska (though the construction of one may begin in the near future) which raises the question of where’s the gas going to go once it leaves the drill sites.  One possibility is to wait for the construction of a TransAlaskan Natural Gas pipeline, which is currently being debated in Congress, and then connect our gas pipeline to it.  This may be the best choice because it requires the least work from us.  Another option is to not wait for Congress and just build a TransAlaskan Natural Gas pipeline for ANWR drilling, but this is almost certainly not feasible.  A third option is to connect the gas pipeline to an existing gas pipeline in Canada that travels down to the U.S., either the Alliance gas pipeline in British Columbia or the TransCanada pipeline in Alberta.  A fourth option is to convert natural gas to liquid synthesis gas and transport the synthesis gas via TAPS.  Research into this area is being conducted, but the feasibility and costs have not yet been accurately determined.
-source on synthesis gas: Gas Daily May 21, 1997 vol. 14 no. 98
    Oil and Gas Journal June 23, 1997
-also visit Alliance Pipeline at www.alliance-pipeline.com
    visit TransCanada at www.transcanada.com

Major geographical obstacles along the routes of pipelines, like rivers, may be bypassed by using horizontal directional drilling to install pipelines beneath.  This technique was first used at the Alpine project to cross the Colville River and may be duplicated elsewhere.
-source: Pipeline and Gas Journal May, 2000 vo. 227 issue 5 p 28

Offshore pipelines will also contain both liquid oil and natural gas pipelines.  Offshore pipelines are especially prone to leaks and damages.  Factors include saltwater environment, seabed ice gouging, and seabed upheaval.  The pipes will have to be specially designed to withstand extreme stress and bending strains.  Rigorous leak detection systems will need to be installed throughout the subsea region to monitor any and all leaks.  Most likely offshore pipeline transportation will be modeled off of the northstar project.
-source on Northstar: Oil and Gas Journal April 30, 2001 pg 100

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