trans-Alaska pipeline
- noun
- Security measures have been enhanced due to the importance of the trans-Alaska pipeline, which provides a significant portion of the U.S. oil supply.
Examples
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Environmentalists and fishers sought to invoke the provisions of TAPAA and require the owners of the trans-Alaska pipeline to pay a portion of the damages because it could be argued that the spill resulted from pipeline operations.
Academic text (1998) -
But oil production is rapidly declining. The trans-Alaska pipeline is almost three-fourths empty and now carries 25% as much oil as it did at its peak. Since 2007, when the legislature imposed ACES retroactively, North Slope production has declined 21% and continues to decline at an average of 6% per year.
Blog text (33) -
A half mile below the ground at Prudhoe Bay, above the vast oil field that helped trigger construction of the trans-Alaska pipeline, a drill rig has tapped what might one day be the next big energy source.
Blog text (30) -
Congress authorized the trans-Alaska pipeline during the 1973 oil crisis, but in a compromise with maritime unions and environmental groups, the exportation of ANS was prohibited.
Academic text (2001) -
The Exxon Valdez spill spotlighted existing groups that traditionally feared oil development and oil tanker traffic in Alaska, and that opposed the trans-Alaska pipeline from the outset.
Academic text (1998) -
The proposed railway would run more than 1,600 miles from Fort McMurray, Alberta, to Delta Junction, Alaska, where the trans-Alaska pipeline is en route from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.
Blog text (33) -
The trans-Alaska pipeline transports crude oil from Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez, spanning 800 miles.
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In Valdez, the operation and maintenance of the trans-Alaska pipeline are crucial for the local economy.
Synonyms
A long pipe that carries oil or gas across land
A long set of pipes that carries oil between places
A major oil pipeline that runs about 800 miles across Alaska from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez
An oil pipe in Alaska that runs about 800 miles from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez
How Long
- Specialized
Surface Forms
Morphology
trans-Alaska + pipeline
The phrase transparently denotes a pipeline that runs across Alaska: it is compositionally built from the prefix 'trans-' (across) + 'Alaska' + 'pipeline' (a conduit for oil). This is a regular, cross-linguistic compositional pattern, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent parts can readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The name trans-Alaska pipeline comes from a simple image: the part trans- means 'across' and a pipeline is a long pipe, so it is a very long pipe that runs 'across' Alaska to carry oil from the north to the port in the south.