Libraries, Archives, Museums: Petroleum and natural gas primary source collections: UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections

Petroleum and natural gas related collections

This guide contains collections of primary source material related to petroleum and natural gas, including the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS), held at archives, libraries, and museums in Alaska. This guide is not comprehensive and may not include every collection containing material related to these subjects

Click on the linked collection names for more detailed guides to the collections. Not every collection has an online guide. For more information about the collections listed, please contact the institutions that own the collections.

Selected items related to the oil and natural gas industries, and TAPS, from many of the institutions represented in this guide have been digitized and added to Alaska's Digital Archives. You can use the search box at the top right of the homepage to search for these materials.

If you are a representative of an institution that holds primary source material about petroleum and natural gas, and would like to see your collections included in the guide, please contact the UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections.

UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections

The following collections can be found at the UAA/APU Consortium Library Archives and Special Collections:

Alaska Center for the Environment records; 1909-1992.
HMC-0005. Records of an environmental non-profit organization in Anchorage. Part II holds most of the petroleum-related materials. It contains issue, project, and subject files, many of which discuss the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, oil development, and land use.
Alaska Public Interest Research Group records; 1962-2008.
HMC-0027. Records from a non-profit group assembled to represent consumer interests in Alaska. The collections contains administrative, legal, and published files on many wide-ranging topics, including oil taxation, spills, and development.
Bill Bacon photograph files. 1945-2004.
HMC-0991. The collection contains photographs related to the oil industry in Alaska.
Neil Risser Bassett papers; 1940-1991.
HMC-0377. Papers and records of Bureau of Land Management Chief of the Branch of Lands and Minerals. Although the collection contains a great deal on the Alaska Native Settlement Claims Act and other land management topics, it also has materials on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and oil and gas leases.
Kay Brown papers; 1983-1996.
HMC-0457. Papers of an Alaska State Representative who also served as the Deputy Director of Minerals and Energy Management, the Director of Oil and Gas, Department of Natural Resources, and the chair of the Committee of Environment and Resource Management. The collection contains her reading files, house bills, and correspondence on many issues, including oil and gas leases and development.
California-Mexican-Alaska Holding Company letter to stockholders; 1929 January 26.
HMC-0795. Letter from a developer about the permit rights to an oil field in Katalla, Alaska. The company dissolved shortly after the writing of this letter and its assets sold to the Alaska Coal, Oil & By-Products Company.
Edwin B. Crittenden papers; 1938-2005.
HMC-0094. As architect and community planner, Edwin Crittenden kept various reference materials for his personal and professional use. His collection contains several reports and plans on petroleum development and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
William C. Fackler photographs; 1959-1960.
HMC-0745. Collection of black and white prints and negatives of an oil drilling operation near Nulato.
Jay S. Hammond papers; 1956-2005.
HMC-0442. The papers of a former Alaska governor. The collection includes articles, papers, and speeches about oil development, Alaska’s resource prospects, and the creation of the Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend.
Walter J. Hickel papers; 1950-2010.
HMC-0660. Correspondence, speeches, press releases, audio visual materials, and subject files of a former U.S. Secretary of the Interior and Alaskan governor. The collection contains records on oil development and trade in Alaska, the American Petroleum Institute, and the National Petroleum Council.
David M. Hickok papers; 1923-1992.
HMC-0408. The professional papers of an Alaskan natural resources officer regarding land use in the state. While these papers primarily focus on land use and preservation, they also contain information about the establishment of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the National Petroleum Reserve that may be of interest.
Milton Lipton oil reports; 1956-1986.
HMC-0971. Reports on international oil production, sales, and transportation gathered by a business consultant. While Lipton worked with clients around the world, the collection includes records about the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and the North Slope.
George C. Martin diaries; 1904-1933. HMC-1110.
The diaries of a petroleum geologist. Because of its personal nature, this collection contains entries from leisure trips as well as from prospecting trips in southern Alaska.
Chuck Meier Trans-Alaska pipeline photographs; 1975-1978.
HMC-0922. Photographs taken by a bus driver for the Alyeska Pipeline Service.
Thomas A. Morehouse papers; 1967-1994.
HMC-0410. Morehouse worked as both a professor and a policy developer under Governor Jay Hammond. The collection contains his professional papers in both capacities, but the majority of the petroleum-related materials are from his time with the government. They include materials on the development of the North Slope Borough and oil and gas research.
John R. “Jack” Roderick papers; 1900-2002.
HMC-0547. Papers of a former Anchorage mayor who also served as the Alaska State Energy Director, the Deputy Commissioner of the Alaska State Department of Natural Resources, and a public affairs consultant for the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company. Most of this collection are notes and research on the history of oil resource development in Alaska and include photographs, recorded interviews, and maps.
Joseph Rudd papers; 1950-1978.
HMC-1293. Joseph Rudd was a natural resources lawyer. A portion of his papers contain correspondence, reports, articles, and regulations about Alaskan oil and gas.
Ruth A.M. Schmidt papers; 1912-2014.
HMC-0792. Ruth Schmidt was a geologist who, among many other things, worked as an environmental consultant on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in the Office of the Governor. A portion of her records contain reports, notes, and photographs relating to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
John Strohmeyer papers; 1946-2007.
HMC-1073. Notes, book drafts, and audiovisual materials of a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. The collection includes the materials Strohmeyer used in the writing of his 1993 book on the Trans-Alaska Pipeline and oil development in Prudhoe Bay, Extreme Conditions: Big Oil and the Transformation of Alaska.
Lowell Thomas Jr. papers; 1953-1990.
HMC-1258. Papers of a former Alaska State Senator and Lieutenant Governor, who was a member of the Legislative’s Special Pipeline Impact Committee. The collection includes files from the committee, correspondence relating to the pipeline, and pipeline subject files.
Fran Ulmer papers; circa 1970-2011.
HMC-1077. Professional papers, audiotapes, and scrapbooks of an Alaska State Representative and Lieutenant Governor who also served on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. Of particular note is the portion of Ulmer’s papers from her time on that Commission as well as her correspondence within the Division of Policy and Development Planning on oil development.
Thomas Wilson papers; 1940-1994.
HMC-1226. Maps, charts, and notes of a petroleum geologist. In his position with the Marathon Oil Company, Wilson helped map and write proposals on the oil development potential of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Cook Inlet, and the North Slope.
Eric Wohlforth papers; 1964-2014.
HMC-1201. Papers of a lawyer in Anchorage, including material related to the financing of the Trans-Alaska Pipeleine from his time as Alaska Commissioner of Revenue.
Betzi and Lyman Woodman papers; 1898-1999.
HMC-0353. In her work as a writer and journalist, Betzi Woodman wrote and published on many Alaskan topics. Her portion of the collection contains her notes, press releases, and interviews relating to the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.
Esther Wunnicke papers; 1955-2013.
HMC-1170. Papers of an activist who was heavily involved in land use policy and oil and gas development in Alaska. Among other positions, Wunnicke served as the director for Alaska’s off shore oil and gas development at U.S. Minerals Management Services, the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources, and the chair of Alaska Oil and Gas Policy Council. The collection contains her speeches, subject files, and notes from her various committee positions.

Credits

This guide is supported in whole or in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the Alaska State Library.