New Offshore Subsea Record

Shell has set a new oil industry record by drilling and completing a subsea well in 9,356’ of water. This is the deepest well ever drilled. The location is 200 miles offshore. The well is part of the Perdido field development that will start production in 2010 at a rate of 130,000 barrels per day. The graphic will give you a chronology of the progression to deep water oil developments.

In case you wondered, this oil is brought to you courtesy of deep water royalty relief. That’s one of the domestic oil incentives that the Dems want to eliminate.

And for those of you who think the oil industry isn’t high tech, take another look. We don’t just send a little vehicle out to scoop a few samples of dirt and take a few pictures. This is like trying to thread a needle from a height of 10 feet. And we do real work down there. We set equipment weighing tons from miles away using remote tools and we set it within a few inches. That equipment then has to operate for years without being touched by human hands once it’s installed. In no other industry can you find a similar mix of brute strength, reliability and precision.

Whale Scratching Post

Is your subsea manifold a little bent out of shape? This may be why.

Another Friend Gone

I just heard of the untimely death of a friend of mine. I worked with him for over 20 years. And he was younger than me. You expect the old timers to pass but not us “young” guys.

He was great to be with on a construction site. He had that laid back, shit kicking, slow talking Texan manner with a dry wit and well developed sense of irony. He could always be counted on for a humorous country analogy that described any situation you might be in.

My favorite story about him happened when he was being considered for a position in the Princeton, NJ engineering office. He was probably the first guy to interview in cowboy boots. I think you can visualize the image here. At the end of a day of interviews, the HR folks are describing the housing options available in the area. He learned that housing cost was much higher and living space was much less that what he was used to in Texas. He looks them in the eye and drawls, “Now tell me again why I would want to lower my standard of livin’ to work here?”

That was Dave. You’ll be missed.

Turkey Day

My wife decided to host Thanksgiving Dinner at our house this year. As the oldest of nine, the family gatherings can be fairly large. She spent two days cooking in preparation for 25 guests with the assistance of the two oldest grandsons as sous chefs. The oldest, J, has shown an early interest in cooking and likes to get in the kitchen with Grandma at every opportunity. The middle one, D, hates to be outdone by his older brother. She never thought that it would be her grandsons helping her out in the kitchen. It’s all the more unusual because, as a baby, J was a very picky eater. He survived his early years on a diet of chicken nuggets and french fries.

The youngest grandson, P, was looking forward to Thanksgiving as he heard his second cousin, Josh, would be among the guests. The two formed a strong bond a few months ago when they discovered a shared love of Transformers. And at four years old, they like the mechanical ones, not Megan Fox.

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the turkey gumbo that we make from the leftovers. Use the turkey carcass to make a stock Make your roux as normal, throw in the holy trinity, add the turkey stock and water to the desired consistency and toss in the leftover turkey, andouille sausage and oysters if you got ‘em. Finish off with green onion and parsley. We use three kinds of pepper for heat – white, black and red.

My Yankee Cousin arrives tomorrow for a few days. He’s coming down for a convention. His favorite meal, barbecue shrimp, will be on the menu sometime this week. They don’t make that in Rhode Island. And if the fishing gods smile, he may be carrying some fresh haddock.

Dubai Builds Worlds Biggest Cess Pit

The Gulf News brings us a story of the solution to illegal dumping by vacuum truck operators. It seems that the truck drivers have been dumping their loads in storm drains becasue they didn't want to wait in line to unload at the sewage treatment plant. This has had a negative impact on the beaches in the expensive areas of Jumeirah Beach and the Duabi Marina where the brown turdfish have been found swimming free.

The solution is to dig a giant pit in the desert. The pit will serve 500 trucks per day. We are told that: "This is what mother nature does over the long term... some of the water will seep into the ground and some will evaporate. The lagoon will have four areas and eventually the water will get clearer," Najim told Gulf News. He said this technology is commonly used in countries that cannot afford proper facilities or infrastructure.

See, its all perfectly natural and "the site would be aerated naturally with only preliminary treatment. Reeds and bamboo will also be planted there to transfer oxygen to the sewage and help break it down." And, not to worry, "it is not just a hole in the desert, it has been engineered."

A Christmas Carol, Updated

I cannot count the number of times I have received emails from Nigerian 419 scammers. I thought I had seen all of the permutations of the letter designed to hook unwary victims, but today I saw one with a new spin.

It seems a Mr. Shu Ya Huo is rich and is dying from esophageal cancer that has “defiled all forms of medicine”. He now regrets that he has lived his life as a selfish man. He says, “I was always hostile to people and only focus on my business as that is the only thing I cared for.” He has given most of his wealth to friends, family and charities in the UK, Ireland and Brazil. Alas, he has now lost his power of speech and due to his failing health cannot do this by himself anymore. However, he still has a few dollars lying around and he wants to give that away as well. He had asked a family member to help in his philanthropic endeavors, but the greedy SOB kept the money for himself. Therefore, Mr. Shu does not trust them with this, his final transaction. He has a sum of money in his “Bank in London” and he is asking me to “collect this deposit and dispatched it to charity organizations”.

The letter doesn’t mention the amount of money or what my take of the loot may be. That is the interesting twist. Evidently, the curiosity and humanity of the recipient will be the bait that lures him into the trap. And coming at Christmas, it is timed to appeal to the charity minded. After all, who could resist this chance to help a stranger in need when he wants to do such good works during the season of giving? The only thing missing in this updated version of a Charles Dickens classic is Tiny Tim.

Hurricane Shut in Statistics

According to the MMS, as of November 19, 58 platforms in the Gulf of Mexico are still shut in. That's down from 81 one month ago. These platforms account for about 212,000 barrels per day of oil and 1,800,000,000 standard cubic feet of natural gas. That's about 16% of the oil and 24% of the gas produced in the GOM.

Things are improving slowly, but we are coming up on the winter months when the weather makes offshore construction work difficult.