Trans-Alaska Pipeline System a specific gravity of 29.9 API at . In 2008, the pipeline carried approximately , less than its theoretical maximum capacity of or its actual maximum of in 1988. From Pump Station 1 it takes an average of 11.9 days for oil to travel the entire length of the pipeline to Valdez, a speed of . The minimum flow through the pipeline is not as clearly defined as its maximum. Operating at lower flows will extend the life of the pipeline as well as increasing profit for its owners. The 2012 flow of 600,000 bbd is significantly less than what
Pipeline transport employee in Michigan. Although the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has standard baseline incident frequencies to estimate the number of spills, TransCanada altered these assumptions based on improved pipeline design, operation, and safety. Whether these adjustments are justified is debatable as these assumptions resulted in a nearly 10-fold decrease in spill estimates. Given that the pipeline crosses 247 miles of the Ogallala Aquifer, or 14.5% of the entire pipeline length, and the 50-year life of the entire pipeline is expected to have between 11 – 91 spills, approximately 1.6 – 13.2 spills can be expected to occur over