Canol Project

The entry of the United States in World War II highlighted the strategic role and vulnerability of Alaska.. Military operations in Alaska depended on fuel transported by sea from the U.S. West Coast, and the U.S. Army became increasingly concerned about the vulnerability of that supply line to Japanese attacks, particularly after the Japanese invasion of the Aleutian Islands and the attack on the Ellwood Oil Field in Southern California. The construction of infrastructure to Alaska from Norman Wells was first raised by the arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson, who proposed a water connection from the railhead at Waterways, Alberta to Norman Wells, and then a road to Fairbanks via Dawson City as an alternative to the Alaska Highway. The order to construct a pipeline from Norman Wells to Whitehorse was issued in April 1942 by Brigadier General Brehon B. Somervell, head of the Construction Division of the Quartermaster Corps, based on the recommendation of Colonel James Graham, the Dean of Engineering at the University of Kentucky. Graham based his recommendation on a one-day conference he organized, attended mostly by Army officials, where no one present was familiar with the area the pipeline was to be built. Somervill's directive set the completion date for the project as 1 October 1942, a mere six months after the order was issued, although Somervill later told a U.S. Senate Committee reviewing the project that at the time he thought the project might actually be completed by the summer of 1943. The order to construct a pipeline from Norman Wells to Whitehorse was issued by Brigadier General Brehon B. Somervell, head of the Construction Division of the Quartermaster Corps, based on the recommendation of Colonel James Graham, the Dean of Engineering at the University of Kentucky. Graham based his recommendation on a one-day conference he organized, attended mostly by Army officials, where no one present was familiar with the area the pipeline was to be built. Somervill's directive set the completion date for the project as 1 October 1942, a mere six months after the order was issued, although Somervill later told a U.S. Senate Committee reviewing the project that at the time he thought the project might actually be completed by the summer of 1943. The US War Department decided to construct the project in April 1942 and it was assigned to the United States Army Corps of Engineers. == Construction ==

, 2020 W.A. Bechtel Co, H. Price & Co. and W. E. Callahan Construction Co. formed a consortium to construct the project. Known as Bechtel-Price-Callahan (BPC) it also included six associated companies. Standard Oil Company was a consultant on the project and would operate the refinery in Whitehorse. Imperial Oil owned the Norman Wells field and would be responsible for the supply of oil. J. Gordon Turnbull and Sverdrup and Parcel were chosen to the project's architect and engineer of record. BPC hired a land surveyor named Guy Blanchet to identify a route. Interviews with Dene from Fort Norman (now Tulita) identified a trail through the Mackenzie Mountains that was the most suitable, and in October 1942 Blanchet, four guides from Fort Norman (Fred Andrew, Little Edward Blondin, George Blondin, and Paul Wright) Logistics Much of the pipeline and equipment for the eastern section of Canol No.1 was moved by rail to Waterways, Alberta (today a suburb of Fort McMurray), where it was transferred to barges to take it up the Athabasca River. The Army was initially unaware that the unnavigable Slave Rapids made navigation to Great Slave Lake impossible, and barges had to be portaged by truck from Fort Fitzgerald to Fort Smith. Once the Mackenzie River froze over, the army constructed an ice road to Norman Wells. The pipeline was laid on the surface of the ground to simplify construction and maintenance. It was operated by Standard Oil and located in the Marwell Industrial Area north of present-day Downtown Whitehorse. The final construction cost for the Canol Project construction has been estimated at US$133 million () and may have been closer to $300 million when military personnel are included. == Operation ==

The last pipeline weld was completed on February 16, 1944, near Macmillan Pass. Oil first entered the pipeline at Norman Wells on 19 December 1943, but due to construction issues oil did not reach the Whitehorse refinery until 1 April 1945. The grand opening was held on April 30. The pipeline had been fully operational for 331 days when it was shut down on 13 March 1945. Camps and pump stations The Canol System had a network of manned pump stations, maintenance camps, == Decommissioning ==

Due to its remoteness and challenging conditions the costs to provide fuel from the Canol were considerably higher than having fuel arrive via tanker. On March 8, 1945, the US War Department made the decision to shut the project down. Work began immediately to winterize all equipment, clean and stock camps and remove all personnel. The Canadian government had right of first refusal to purchase the pipeline, but prior to shutdown had already concluded that the cost of operating the project was far greater than shipping in oil. The U.S. Army hoped to find a private-sector buyer for the entire project, but was unsuccessful. Instead the project was sold off in pieces while Canol No. 1 was sold for scrap and abandoned. Imperial Oil purchased equipment at Norman Wells for $3 million. Imperial also paid $1 million for the Whitehorse refinery, which had been installed at a cost of $27 million, which they then dismantled and shipped to Alberta. The salvage rights for the remainder of the line were sold for $700,000 and carried out by George Price of Dawson Creek, British Columbia. It was then sold to the White Pass & Yukon Company (WPY). WPY dismantled the Canol No.4 by 1962, but continued to operate Canol No.2 until 1994, when the pipeline was removed. The Whitehorse refinery was dismantled in 1948 and shipped to Edmonton to process oil from the recent discovery at Leduc. == Current status ==

The Canol Road is still seasonally maintained within the Yukon and is known as Highway 6. A ferry in the community of Ross River, Yukon is used to cross the Pelly River. There are several old vehicle dumps remaining on the Yukon side and an old pipeline crossing remains in Ross River. The bridge has been used as a footbridge and was recently refurbished. In the Northwest Territories the road is no longer maintained and is now the Canol Heritage Trail. It is estimated that 46,000 barrels of crude oil were spilled along the pipeline route. Clean-up of telegraph wire began in 2015 and most of the wire along the trail has been coiled up for removal. Remediation work began in 2018 to remove contaminants, telegraph wire and other safety hazards along the trail and expected to be completed in 2020. Remediation of the trail will allow the creation of Doi T'oh territorial park to proceed as set out in the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement. Cleanup began in 2018 at the former site of the refinery in Whitehorse, known locally as the Marwell tar pit. Work was expected to be completed in 2020 at a cost of almost $7 million. Imperial Oil's Norman Wells operations continued after the closure of the Canol pipeline, supplying local demand up and down the Mackenzie River with barges. Additional wells and a new processing facility were opened in 1985, alongside Enbridge's Line 21 pipeline, which links Norman Wells to the broader Canadian pipeline network at Zama City, Alberta along a much simpler southeastern route that follows the Mackenzie River. Production at Norman Wells is scheduled to end in the 3rd quarter of 2026, with reclamation work to begin in 2030 once a reclamation plan is developed. == See also ==