This was one of the first things we had to see when we came to Fairbanks.  The Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is one of the longest pipeline systems in the world.  Alyeska Pipeline Service Company has operated TAPS and transported more than 14 billion barrels of oil since start-up.  The length of the pipeline is 800 miles-420 miles above ground where unstable permafrost makes it necessary to elevate the pipeline; and 380 miles below ground, where the pipe is buried in stable bedrock.