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The pipeline road was completed in October, 1944.
Apart from the pipeline, it constitutes the first direct link
between the Northwest Territories and Yukon. The
road, of course, cannot be compared to the Alaska Highway.
The width is narrow, curves are sharp, and in places grades
are so steep as to admit of the passage of only heavily-
powered tractor vehicles.

A telephone line, placed in operation in May, 1944,
accompanies the road and is part of the network of wire
communications installed between Edmonton and Fairbanks
during the years 1942 to 1944.

It was originally proposed to build five flight strips
along the pipeline. Only one strip—at Sheldon Lake—
was cleared, and its use was confined to the winter months.
It was abandoned shortly after it was opened.

The Whitehorse Refinery

To refine the crude oil conveyed from Norman Wells
through the pipeline, a refinery was constructed at White-
horse by the United States Army. Work was started in
June, 1943, and was completed in April, 1944. Storage

tanks -with a total capacity of 678,500 barrels were also
built at Whitehorse.

Supplementary Pipeline System

To distribute the petroleum products of the refinery at
Whitehorse, a 4-inch pipeline along the right of way of the
White Pass and Yukon Railways between Whitehorse and
Skagway, a 3-inch pipeline paralleling the Alaska Highway
from Whitehorse to Fairbanks, and a 2-inch pipeline from
Carcross to Watson Lake were completed in 1943. Until

{42 }

the operation of the refinery in 1944, these lines were used
to distribute gasoline from tankers at Skagway to White-
horse and points along the highway as far as Fairbanks and -
Watson Lake. Storage tanks with a total capacity of
190,000 barrels had been erected at Skagway. _

Termination of the Canol Project

Early in 1945, following the Japanese withdrawal from
threatening positions in the Pacific, it became apparent that
the need for large petroleum supplies in Alaska and Yukon ~
had largely disappeared. Drilling and production on
Canol account ceased on March 8, 1945. The pipeline.
and Whitehorse refinery operated until about April 1, 1945,
and the Canol Project contract with Imperial Oil, Limited
was officially terminated on May 3, 1945. ;

After termination of the Project, the needs of the
Alaska Highway were supplied by tanker through the
Skagway pipeline. Production from Norman Wells was
reduced to conform with the demands of the Mackenzie
River region, which have been estimated at 60,000 to
75,000 barrels of crude oil for 1946.

The cost of maintaining and operating the Canol pipe-
line has been estimated at $1,000,000 per year. A like
amount would be necessary to maintain the road. It is
apparent that under present conditions Norman Wells
cannot compete at Whitehorse with oil brought by tankers
to Skagway, nor could it compete in the seaboard markets
with the established southern fields. The future of the
Norman Wells oilfield for some time to come would seem
to depend on the development of the Mackenzie region
and the consequent growth of local markets.