Transarabian Pipeline Construction: Oil Across Arabia 1947 Bechtel

• published: 15 Jan 2015
• views: 79

more at http://news.quickfound.net/intl/saudi_arabia_news.html Placed in the National Archives by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), "This film shows the early development of Saudi Arabian oil fields and pipelines." Reupload of a previously uploaded film, in one piece instead of multiple parts. Public domain film from the US National Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and mild video noise reduction applied. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Arabian_Pipeline The Trans-Arabian Pipeline (Tapline), was an oil pipeline from Qaisumah in Saudi Arabia to Sidon in Lebanon. In its heyday, it was an important factor in the global trade of petroleum—helping with the economic development of Lebanon—as well as American and Middle Eastern political relations... History Construction of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline began in 1947 and was mainly managed by the American company Bechtel. Originally the Tapline was intended to terminate in Haifa which was then in the British Mandate of Palestine, but due to the establishment of the state of Israel, an alternative route through Syria (Golan Heights) and Lebanon was selected with an export terminal in Sidon. The Syrian government initially opposed the plan, but ratified Tapline construction in 1949 following the U.S.-backed military coup overthrowing democratic rule there. Oil transport through the pipeline started in 1950. Since the 1967 Six-Day War, the section of the pipeline which runs through the Golan Heights came under Israeli occupation, though the Israelis permitted the pipeline's operation to continue. After years of constant bickering between Saudi Arabia and Syria and Lebanon over transit fees, the emergence of oil supertankers, and pipeline breakdowns, the section of the line beyond Jordan ceased operation in 1976. The remainder of the line between Saudi Arabia and Jordan continued to transport modest amounts of petroleum until 1990 when the Saudis cut off the pipeline in response to Jordan's support of Iraq during the first Gulf War. Today, the entire line is unfit for oil transport... From "The Building of Tapline" http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/380/388/tapline/building-tapline/building-tapline.pdf In 1950, the world's largest oil pipeline system was completed. Oil fields in Saudi Arabia were linked with the Mediterranean Sea at Sidon, Lebanon, over a thousand miles away. The pipeline greatly reduced the number of tankers required to transport oil around the Arabian Peninsula through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, a 20-day, 7,000 mile trip. The building of the great pipeline is a story of accomplishment by Americans and Middle Easterners working together towards a common goal. It took the courage, perseverence and skills of 16,000 men, most of them nationals of the lands through which the line was passing, to overcome the heat, desert, sand storms, loneliness and other obstacles that beset the pipeliners during the construction period. At the Mediterranean, the oil is loaded on tankers and transported to the world markets. Though the trans-Arabian pipeline is 1068 miles long, only the 753 mile section from the Sidon Terminal to the Qaisumah pump station is rightly called the TRANS-ARABIAN PIPELINE or TAPLINE. The remaining 315 miles is part of the Arabian American Oil Company's gathering system in eastern Saudi Arabia. This part of the line gathers the oil before its long journey to the coast of Lebanon. In 1947, the trans-Arabian pipeline was started. Thousands of tons of steel plate were fabricated into 31 foot lengths of pipe at factories in the United States. Half the pipe was made 30 inches in diameter and the other half 31 inches. This made it possible to save shipping space by "nesting" or slipping the smaller pipe inside the larger... Huge 300 horsepower trucks, equipped with special, low pressure sand tires, hauled the pipe across desert and plain. More than 1500 vehicles made up the desert fleet of cars and trucks that were used on the job. The pipe was strung out on the ground length after length along the surveyed route of the pipeline. Powerful tractors with side-booms unloaded the trucks and lined up the pipe sections readying them for the welders. Machines like the GiantRipper with its great steel tooth, were used to rip a trench along the ground in which the pipe was to be buried. Final welding of the sections fashioned the 93-foot lengths of pipe into one great tube. All told, over 180,000 welds were made on the great line... The trans-Arabian pipeline system transports over 300,000 barrels of crude oil a day from eastern Saudi Arabia to the terminal near the biblical town of Sidon, Lebanon. That's enough oil to produce gasoline to operate almost 3 million automobiles for an average day's driving; or an amount of fuel oil sufficient to heat almost 260,000 homes.