Date of Event: 04/21/2026
Location: Tully’s 8070 Main St, Williamsville, NY 14221
Number of Attendees: 41
Presenter/Notable Guest(s): Ray Navarros – Instructor with The National Welding Inspection School –
Rich Depue, CWI with Certified Welding and Testing – instructor with NWIS
Event Summary: The Niagara Frontier AWS Section hosted a presentation on one of the most significant welding projects in American history: Building & Maintaining the Alaskan Pipeline
Presenters Ray Navarros, instructor with the National Welding Inspection School of Burton, Texas, and Rich Depue, CWI with Certified Welding and Testing and instructor with NWIS, joined National Fuel Gas inspectors to discuss the welding challenges, inspection demands, and long-term impact of the project.
The program focused on the difficulty of welding and inspecting pipeline across 800 miles of remote Alaska terrain. Crews worked in extreme cold, harsh weather, isolated locations, and challenging field conditions where access, consistency, and repair decisions were never simple. Inspection was equally demanding. Weld quality had to be verified across a massive, fast-moving project where radiographic inspection, documentation, procedure control, and acceptance criteria were critical.
A major point of discussion was the historical importance of the Alaskan Pipeline to pipeline welding standards. At the time, many of the welding codes, inspection requirements, and field-proven procedures now common in pipeline work were limited or not fully developed for a project of this scale. The challenges helped drive the need for stronger welding procedures, clearer inspection practices, improved documentation, and more formal training for welding inspectors.
The presentation also recognized John C. Wormeli, Senior Welding Engineer for the Alaskan Pipeline and founder of the National Welding Inspection School in 1977. Wormeli’s work in developing welding specifications and procedures helped shape future pipeline welding inspection and training.
Attendees left with a greater appreciation for how this landmark project influenced modern pipeline welding standards.
