Just getting rolling...

[Smokin Joe]

Howdy!

This could be an important forum around here, as important as energy is to our national security, or just a backwater for those of us who have worked in the industry.

Whether you work in the oil and gas industry (upstream or down), coal, nuclear, hydropower, transportation, Electrical, or an alternative energy industry, did work there, or are just interested in getting the straight skinny from people who have a lot more knowledge than the average journalist, this subforum is a spot to compare notes on anything from industry news to technology to just sitting back and discussing trends as we see them.

I'm e-mailing a few folks to see if they are okay with us posting their articles (excerpt and link) here, and we should check with the trade pubs before using their material. If they do NOT want us to post their stuff, please start a list of publishers who do not want us to do that. I'd hate to tick anyone off over any sort of copyright issue, so I'm proceeding carefully on that.

Mystery-AK twisted my arm to moderate, just keep it clean and if you have any questions or problems, let me know.

Thanks,

Smokin Joe

[uglybiker]

Looking forward to it! I work in cement manufacture which has many close ties with the energy sector.

[Cowboyway]

I'm interested in the this forum.  I've been in the commercial nuclear power industry for about 35 years (has it been that long? ).  I&C and electrical engineering.  Worked assignments at 15 stations around the country.

[Smokin Joe]

I'm interested in the this forum.  I've been in the commercial nuclear power industry for about 35 years (has it been that long? ).  I&C and electrical engineering.  Worked assignments at 15 stations around the country.

You must have started not too long after Three Mile Island. Tough time in the industry just then. I was working on a Master's degree in uranium geochemistry and made the jump to the oil patch in '79.

[Smokin Joe]

Looking forward to it! I work in cement manufacture which has many close ties with the energy sector.

Yes, it does. People don't generally realize how much the industry ties in, often in places they would not have thought of.

[Cowboyway]

You must have started not too long after Three Mile Island. Tough time in the industry just then. I was working on a Master's degree in uranium geochemistry and made the jump to the oil patch in '79.

Yeah, i started during construction of the Shearon-Harris plant in 1980.  That station was originally designed for four (4) units but after TMI they made the decision to complete one unit only.

[truth_seeker]

Twenty years, total.

First oil & gas drilling & production engineering assistant, then Financial analyst in engineering & construction industry (mainly 14 years with Fluor Corp.)

Put me on the equivalent of a ping list, please

[Smokin Joe]

Twenty years, total.

First oil & gas drilling & production engineering assistant, then Financial analyst in engineering & construction industry (mainly 14 years with Fluor Corp.)

Put me on the equivalent of a ping list, please

I don't think there are ping lists here like TOS, but I might be able to set up a list and PM everyone interested in a bunch. Four new articles posted and feel free to add to that as you come across interesting topics. They don't have to be (and should include other energy topics besides) Oil and Gas. Anything which affects the ability to make things move or keep the lights on is fair game.

[rodamala]

@thackney PING

[EC]

I'm not an energy sector worker, but I'll be reading with interest. Probably not speaking - "Better to be silent and supposed a fool, than to speak and prove it" seems a reasonable guideline for an area you know nothing about!

[thackney]

This could be an important forum around here

 

[Cowboyway]

Nice avatar.  Electrical generation I assume.

Coal, gas, nuke, wind, solar?

[thackney]

Nice avatar.  Electrical generation I assume.

Coal, gas, nuke, wind, solar?

I'm an electrical engineer, specialized in power systems.

I started life in the electric utility world, but I've been in oil/gas/petrochem for a couple decades and far, far happier with the change.

Our little substation at the Natural Gas Liquids facility where I usually work has 720MVA of capacity if we turn on all the fans.  Our load isn't near that, we have lots of redundancy and future capacity built into that.

[debrawiest]

Not directly involved in the industry, but I live in ND. Yeah lignite! Yeah fracking!

[Sanguine]

I'm in energy research.

How about it being an important backwater, @Smokin Joe ?

[Smokin Joe]

I'm all for it. This is and will continue to be a critical sector which shapes everything from the economy to trade policy, foreign relations, and ultimately our military development. It impacts all other sectors, so it, and anything which affects it, is important.
I think a more knowledgeable and informed public can make or support better policy decisions which benefit us all, producer and consumer. Most of the media are not very good at accurately informing people who are not in the industry, and there is a lot of misinformation disseminated by the media, out of ignorance or design.  I think a forum full of good folks can fix that.

[Smokin Joe]

Not directly involved in the industry, but I live in ND. Yeah lignite! Yeah fracking!

Welcome aboard!

[thackney]

I think a more knowledgeable and informed public can make or support better policy decisions which benefit us all, producer and consumer.

That is the reason I spent a decade and a half active at TOS.

I don't expect folks to agree with me.  But I do want them to base their opinions and their votes on real information.

[Smokin Joe]

That is the reason I spent a decade and a half active at TOS.

I don't expect folks to agree with me.  But I do want them to base their opinions and their votes on real information.

Another reason it is good to have you here!

[MajorClay]

Thanks for moderating!

[Smokin Joe]

Thanks for moderating!

Thank you. Folks are civilized enough that I didn't figure it would take much here. Feel free to post articles relating to any part of the Energy industry.

[MajorClay]

Here is an interesting one, I haven't taken the time to learn how to post over here yet.

[thackney]

Here is an interesting one, I haven't taken the time to learn how to post over here yet.

I see your post.  Success!

 

[Smokin Joe]

Here is an interesting one, I haven't taken the time to learn how to post over here yet.

To post a new article in this forum, go up a level (to where you see the list of topics down the page) and look for the row of buttons on the right beginning with "New Topic". Click on that one, and fill in the boxes. It's simpler than TOS, because you are already in the forum where it will appear, you put in the title, put in a link, highlight it and click on the Insert hyperlink button (2nd over, 2nd row) and it becomes a 'hot' link. Copy an excerpt from the article and paste it into the big box, and either preview it or post it with the buttons on the lower right.
If you find something you want to post in a different forum, go into that forum, and do it there.

[MajorClay]

Thanks, I'll give it a try.  Did you see the rig count today?