NORTH SLOPE ALASKA

Year Published: 1964

Description: Dating to 1964, "North Slope Alaska'" is a British Petroleum (BP) film that describes a journey during the summertime in the Canadian Arctic, focusing on the tugboat Radium Dew transporting oil drilling equipment. The tugboat travels 1500 miles from Edmonton to the McKenzie Delta, aiming to navigate a 500-mile channel to Northern Alaska during a brief summer window when the Arctic Ocean is navigable. The journey involves navigating through shallows, offloading at Pingo Beach, and preparing for the next stage of the journey inland to the drilling area. The narrative highlights the challenges faced by the crew, including extreme cold, long nights, and the continuous effort required to keep drilling operations running. The workers, mostly from the Canadian prairies, are depicted as resilient and hardworking, enduring harsh conditions to achieve their goal. • 0:22: Summertime in the Canadian Arctic, McKenzie River, tugboat Radium Dew moving north with oil drilling equipment. • 0:57: Tugboat traveled 1500 miles from Edmonton to McKenzie Delta. • 1:08: Arctic Ocean stretches northward, mostly unnavigable due to pack ice. • 1:18: Radium Dew's task is to navigate a 500-mile channel to Northern Alaska. • 1:42: First day out from McKenzie River, cargo taken in tow. • 2:00: If successful, it will be the first operation in Northern Alaska from the Canadian side. • 2:58: Tugboat navigates shallows at the mouth of the Cville River. • 3:36: Reaches a point 50 miles south of the Arctic Shore, 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle. • 4:02: Offloading point named Pingo Beach, staging post for the next part of the journey. • 4:40: October at Pingo Beach, 15 men waiting for frost to deepen. • 5:58: First convoy heads off on the second part of the journey, 100 miles inland to the drilling area. • 6:17: First trucks to travel on the North Slope, 30 truckloads before drilling begins. • 7:09: November, night is 20 hours long, trucks travel across an empty map. • 8:43: January, third part of the journey begins, extreme cold conditions. • 10:15: Two shifts: sleep or drill, finding drinking water is a challenge. • 12:03: Drilling must continue until a well is completed, 25 men keep the drill rotating. • 13:15: Roughnecks think about the drill bit, sometimes need to pull up half a mile of pipe. • 17:02: Drilling a well is risky, first well in an unproven field, high costs. • 17:22: Geologists and seismic men make guesses, but drilling is necessary to know. • 17:35: Workers endure harsh conditions, quiet and hardworking, mostly from Canadian prairies. • 18:25: They are considered giants for their efforts.

Complete Record: Dating to 1964, "North Slope Alaska'" is a British Petroleum (BP) film that describes a journey during the summertime in the Canadian Arctic, focusing on the tugboat Radium Dew transporting oil drilling equipment. The tugboat travels 1500 miles from Edmonton to the McKenzie Delta, aiming to navigate a 500-mile channel to Northern Alaska during a brief summer window when the Arctic Ocean is navigable. The journey involves navigating through shallows, offloading at Pingo Beach, and preparing for the next stage of the journey inland to the drilling area. The narrative highlights the challenges faced by the crew, including extreme cold, long nights, and the continuous effort required to keep drilling operations running. The workers, mostly from the Canadian prairies, are depicted as resilient and hardworking, enduring harsh conditions to achieve their goal. • 0:22: Summertime in the Canadian Arctic, McKenzie River, tugboat Radium Dew moving north with oil drilling equipment. • 0:57: Tugboat traveled 1500 miles from Edmonton to McKenzie Delta. • 1:08: Arctic Ocean stretches northward, mostly unnavigable due to pack ice. • 1:18: Radium Dew's task is to navigate a 500-mile channel to Northern Alaska. • 1:42: First day out from McKenzie River, cargo taken in tow. • 2:00: If successful, it will be the first operation in Northern Alaska from the Canadian side. • 2:58: Tugboat navigates shallows at the mouth of the Cville River. • 3:36: Reaches a point 50 miles south of the Arctic Shore, 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle. • 4:02: Offloading point named Pingo Beach, staging post for the next part of the journey. • 4:40: October at Pingo Beach, 15 men waiting for frost to deepen. • 5:58: First convoy heads off on the second part of the journey, 100 miles inland to the drilling area. • 6:17: First trucks to travel on the North Slope, 30 truckloads before drilling begins. • 7:09: November, night is 20 hours long, trucks travel across an empty map. • 8:43: January, third part of the journey begins, extreme cold conditions. • 10:15: Two shifts: sleep or drill, finding drinking water is a challenge. • 12:03: Drilling must continue until a well is completed, 25 men keep the drill rotating. • 13:15: Roughnecks think about the drill bit, sometimes need to pull up half a mile of pipe. • 17:02: Drilling a well is risky, first well in an unproven field, high costs. • 17:22: Geologists and seismic men make guesses, but drilling is necessary to know. • 17:35: Workers endure harsh conditions, quiet and hardworking, mostly from Canadian prairies. • 18:25: They are considered giants for their efforts.

Transcription

[Music] summertime in the Canadian Arctic the McKenzie river and the tugbo radium de moving North toward Wards the river mouth her cargo oil drilling equipment is pushed on two bges lashed up front through the long days and short nights of the Arctic Summer from Edmonton in the south of of the tugboat has traveled 1500 mil by lake and river to the McKenzie Delta from here the Arctic Ocean stretches northward unnavigable a grinding mass of Eternal pack ice but sometimes for less than two months of Summer a channel may open along the shore now radium Dew's task is to slip through on a 500 mile dash to Northern Alaska one of the lonliest places on Earth earth cut off by Mountain accessible from the south only by bush plane the region of Alaska called the North [Music] Slope the Arctic Ocean first day out from the McKenzie river at se the cargo is taken in tow two of seven barges which radium do must bring out of Canada during the short weeks of Summer if she succeeds it will be the first time an operation in northern Alaska has ever been mounted from the Eastern or Canadian side [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] now the tugboat must feel her way through the shallows at the mouth of the cville river and push as far Upstream as navigation [Music] allows the North Slope the last desolate miles of the Great American continent [Music] this then is as far as we go by water to a point 50 Mi south of the Arctic Shore 300 Mi north of the Arctic Circle a flat treeless Wilderness where the last Hills Peter out towards the last ocean here the river runs shallow and a gravel Shore offers the only dve back ground for miles around they named it Pingo Beach offloading point for the first part of the journey staging post for the next and behind the beach Begins the mud the green Tundra disguises a black morass so although they have brought their own brand of mud 2,000 Mi they cannot move it nor the other supplies as long as summer lasts [Music] October Pingo Beach six Huts crouched under the River Bank 15 men waiting while the frost bites deep into the ground working for the day when the first Convoy will be ready to move come [Music] the first contct boy heading off on the second part of the journey 100 Mil Inland to the drilling [Music] area the first trucks ever to travel on the North [Applause] Slope 30 truckloads to go before drilling begins and three Wells to be drilled before winter ends PA [Music] now the land of the Midnight Sun becomes the land of the midday Moon it is November and the night is 20 hours long the trucks roll on traveling from nowhere to Nowhere following a penciled line across an empty map n [Music] h [Applause] [Music] January and the third part of the journey has begun [Music] downwards what does it feel like a 40 or 60 below where flesh freezes and a steel Banner can snap like a carrot trying to make things work and keep them working where every moving part of each machine must be thawed and thawed again till the whole Camp steams like the Devil's Kitchen [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] two shifts you can sleep or you drill nothing else except a few chores like finding drinking water in a country where the rivers can freeze solid to their beds [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] drilling must never stop until a well is down meanwhile 25 men live to keep the drill rotating life turns around the Turning shaft there is no other point of purpose [Music] [Music] when a rough neck dresses to go out on a 12-hour shift the chances are that he's thinking of the bit is it sharp or is it blunt did they change it or do we or will it last over to the next guy most times a well drills itself a man can stay in the tool shop and keep warm but maybe every 20 or 30 hours you've got to get out there and pull up a half mile of pipe [Music] you're n [Music] la la [Applause] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] a the [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] drilling a well is always a shot in the dark and this is the first well in an unproven field the cost is great you may find nothing or what you find may only be used in the future geologists and seismic men can make a scientific guess but sooner or later you must drill to know what you've got so now it's up to the truckers and the cat skinners the motormen and the Derek men the Drillers and the tool pushers and Ru necks Working On and On Through The Long Winter where the wind cuts and the cold aches they're are quiet matter of fact bunch of guys from down in the Canadian prairies and some of them are hardly more than boys they don't talk tough nor act big to them what they do is all in a day's work but in their way they are [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] giants [Music] for e [Music]

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