ExxonMobil in Alaska: A $40 million gamble on the Northwest Passage

Excerpt from Time magazine, Sept. 5, 1969, edition: In order to sell the Alaska oil at competitive prices, Humble and its partners must find an economical way to bring it down south.

The Northwest Passage could provide the answer. If the Manhattan’s journey is a success, the way would be open to haul North Slope crude to the U.S. for 60 cents a barrel less than the cost of piping the oil from Prudhoe Bay to the ice-fee southern Alaska port of Valdez for shipment to the Pacific Coast. This would not only make North Slope drilling practical and profitable, but would encourage development of Alaska’s huge deposits of iron, sulfur, copper and other minerals.

The Manhattan expedition could provide other benefits as well. By opening up the Northwest route for commercial shipping, it would cut the distance between New York and Tokyo by 3,320 miles and save shippers both time and money.

Note: Later Humble said the entire Manhattan project ran closer to $50 million.