Oil Field History

The birth of the offshore industry is commonly set as November 14, 1947 when Kerr-McGee completed the first successful offshore well in what is now Ship Shoal Block 32. The water depth there is only 15 feet but the location is outside of any protective islands or bays and is subject to the weather and waves from the Gulf of Mexico.

The drilling derrick and draw works were supported on a 38-foot by 71-foot wooden decked platform built on sixteen 24-inch pilings driven to a depth of 104 feet. A government surplus vessel was moored to the platform. It held electrical generators, drilling mud tanks, pumps, drill pipe and quarters for personnel; all the equipment, men and material needed to support the drilling operation. It also began the concept of housing crews offshore for several weeks at a time and then rotating them to shore while a replacement crew took their place. This first offshore well produced until 1984.

Do you remember the James Stewart movie Thunder Bay? This is the well that inspired that movie. Portions of it were filmed in Morgan City, Louisiana and on the actual platform.

The use of a government surplus vessel as a tender vessel was driven by frugality. If the well was not successful, they would be able to move the vessel to another location and they didn’t need a large fixed structure. That vessel was in existence as late as the '90s and has been called the “Grand Old Lady of the Gulf”. During her lifetime, she saw many changes in the Gulf of Mexico and has undergone several herself.

She was launched July 30, 1945 at the Boston Naval Shipyard as covered lighter YF-893. She was 260 feet long and 48 feet wide. Originally built as a utility craft to carry fuel, she was assigned to the Port of New Orleans. She was acquired by Kerr McGee in a surplus sale, converted to a drilling tender and renamed Frank Phillips in honor of the founder of the oil company that partnered with Kerr McGee in that first well.

In 1977, Norman Industries acquired her, renamed her the Pipeliner 8, and put her to use as a pipeline burial barge towing a machine that could bury subsea pipelines beneath the sea floor. She ran aground in 1979 near Freeport, Texas but by 1980, she had been repaired and had a new owner: Ingram Marine. In 1983, she began yet another career when she was converted to a center slot pipe lay barge. Ten foot sponsons added to give her more stability and she was renamed the Delta 1. As the Delta 1, she installed over 1,000,000 feet of pipe in the Gulf of Mexico. Finally, Global Industries acquired her in the 90’s. They were her final owners. They sold her for scrap in the late '90s.

At almost 60 years old, she must hold the record for the world’s longest active offshore construction vessel and she is certainly the only vessel that can lay claim to being there at the start of the offshore oil industry.

Census

I received the census form the other day. I decided to follow the example of a friend of mine. He was a Canadian who moved here and is now a citizen. When the census worker came to his cabin 10 years ago (he lives in the NH woods) he told the worker, "Unlike you, I had to take a test to become a US citizen. And I learned that the only thing the Constitution requires is to enumerate the population. You cannot come into my house, you cannot ask me any other questions and you cannot stay on my property. You have enumerated and you may leave."

So, I filled out the space requesting the number of people living at that address. Just for fun, I gave them my phone number – in Roman Numerals. That is all the information I gave them.

And I found it strange that in a time when the country is supposed to be "post-racial", that there were so many questions about race and ethnicity. But there were none asking if the responder was a citizen! I have lived in several countries for extended periods of time and none of them would even think to include me in any population count and certainly not give me any social benefits. Seems to me that a question about resident status would be more important to the census.

Unintended Consequences

Sometimes when executives go out in to the world, they are oblivious to the consequences of their actions. When a CEO decides to rub elbows with the "hands" offshore, a whole chain of events is put in motion. A special helicopter will be chartered. The platform will undergo a "beautification project" which takes the guys away from productive work (and adds cost). All "dirty" operations are postponed. The cost of all this adds up but the executive is not aware of it, or just doesn't care.

I once knew a construction supervisor, who when faced with a pending visit from the CEO, negotiated with the shipyard to spray a "cosmetic coat" of paint on the rig so that the color would be uniform and not the patchwork of shades that comes with paint sprayed on at different times. The problem was that they thinned the paint so much that it bubbled the paint below it causing a major do over.

It seems Obama suffers from a similar syndrome. When the President decides to go walkabout, he triggers road closures and all manner of local havoc. His vacation in Hawaii shut down the operation of several tourist flight sightseeing operations. They are now trying to recover their lost income from the government. The link is here.

And that's probably a few more votes he won't get in the next election.

Reconciliation

There it is. This President thinks the American people don't care about "procedures within the Senate".

Capital One Gotcha

I received my statement the other day and found that my interest rate had doubled. WTF?! I called them to ask why and was informed that it had nothing to do with my credit standing, credit history or payments but that they had sent me a letter last February warning me of an increase and giving me the option to opt out and close the account while I paid it off at the old interest rate. But, this option was not available to me now, so sorry. Some poor phone guy in India got an earful and was called a criminal and usurer. Sorry, guy, but that what you get for associating with a criminal enterprise.

You see, the whole situation was set up to avoid the new credit laws which take effect today. They would have had to freeze existing accounts at the old interest rate and only new purchases could be charged the higher rate. So they snuck a form letter into their queue of junk mail and didn't send any other warning flags about the impending account change. To charge 19% when the Fed is at fractional interest rates should be criminal.

I will pay off Capital One ASAP and they can take a flying leap at the moon. And I guess I'm not the only one getting stuck.

Lombardi Gras?

The press began calling the Saints Superbowl Victory Parade last Tuesday "Lombardi Gras". I guess it was supposed to be a combination of the trophy name, The Lombardi Trophy, and Mardi Gras, which is today. But it doesn't make sense to me.

In French, adjectives usually come after the noun they modify. Hence, the translation for Mardi Gras is "Fat Tuesday", not "Tuesday Fat". Then, Lombardi Gras would mean "Fat Lombardi". But I don't think the intent was to imply that Vince Lombardi was overweight or that the trophy was greasy. I think the event should have been called "Mardi Lombardi". Not only does it rhyme, but it clearly indicates that the event happened on a Tuesday. Anybody else have any suggestions?

Fantasy Fulfilment

There's a scene in "Exit to Eden" where Rosie O'Donnell first arrives at the resort and one of the staff asks her how he could fulfil her fantasy. "Go paint my house", was the response.

Well, if a painted house is a woman's fantasy, my wife and I worked on that fantasy this past weekend - yes, even on St. Valentine's day. If you've ever painted a house in South Louisiana you know that your window of opportunity is short. Wait too long in the season and it becomes unbearably hot. The planning started last summer with my wife picking out several color samples and then painting swatches on the back of the house to see what they looked like in various kinds of light. After several months of testing, she found a combination she was happy with. We (well, mostly she as she was painting while I was holding down the desk in the office) started in January but the cold weather due to Anthropomorphic Global Warming has slowed progress. However, we have enlisted the aid of niece and her guy friend and will catch up soon.

If you have a house painting fantasy, I'd like to recommend the new Behr paint that has the primer already in it. (This is a non paid endorsement) It goes on smooth and adheres well. It ain't cheap but it could save you a coat.

In the meantime, have a happy and safe Mardi Gras. You'll probably find me giving a coat of fresh paint to the shutters. Laissez le Bon Temps Roullez!