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?

[MajorClay]

looks like it worked

[Smokin Joe]

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

To be honest, I haven't checked the national count. I look at the State (ND): 26 rigs, two on their way to the weeds when they are done with the present wells (About 10% of the total here at the peak)

Found here: https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/riglist.asp

Baker Hughes Rig Count: (388 land rigs in the US) found here: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=79687&p=irol-reportsother

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

You guys don't need a ping list, you can get a notification for the entire subboard of "energy".

[thackney]

You guys don't need a ping list, you can get a notification for the entire subboard of "energy".

How do we get a notification for a subboard?

(easier to ask you than go look as I should first....)

[Weird Tolkienish Figure]

How do we get a notification for a subboard?

(easier to ask you than go look as I should first....)

Click on "Energy Issues" above then "Notify".  ^-^

[IsailedawayfromFR]

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!

Please speak up when you have a question.  This is supposed to be for information sharing but also for education purposes and for every person who asks one, there are likely many more that had the same Q.

So far I see represented upstream O&G folks like the moderator(geologist) and myself(petroleum engineer), at least one from research, and at least one from the power facilities side who knows a lot beyond that.  Between us all, we should likely find someone who knows an answer to most energy-related issues, or as is more likely, can find out where to look.

[thackney]

Click on "Energy Issues" above then "Notify".  ^-^

Thank you, Thank you very much!

[Bigun]

Thanks for moderating!

   Great to see this bunch together again!

[Bigun]

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

My dad worked in that industry for many years.

[Bigun]

Retired consultant and tech writer here. Worked in many locations around the world including the Middle East for many years.

[montanajoe]

I'm interested in the rig count. Saw yesterday there were none in Montana..hard to believe its fallen off that much

[Smokin Joe]

Retired consultant and tech writer here. Worked in many locations around the world including the Middle East for many years.

Good to have you aboard, Bigun!

[Smokin Joe]

I'm interested in the rig count. Saw yesterday there were none in Montana..hard to believe its fallen off that much

I just added a new topic with the link to the Baker-Hughes rig counts. We aim to please!

[montanajoe]

I just added a new topic with the link to the Baker-Hughes rig counts. We aim to please!

Found it thanks

[Bigun]

Good to have you aboard, Bigun!

Thanks! You, Thackney, and I participated on some LONG threads that I fondly remember over at TOS some years ago.

[Smokin Joe]

Thanks! You, Thackney, and I participated on some LONG threads that I fondly remember over at TOS some years ago.

Sure did. That's part of the reason for this area, to educate people on energy issues so there aren't so many misconceptions.  Some of them were amazing...

[Smokin Joe]

Smoking Joe,

Thanks for starting this thread.  I look forward to reading it.  Here is a thread that I read daily for oil/gas info and stock info.  I hope the link works as I'm logged in as a member.

http://www.siliconinvestor.com/subject.aspx?subjectid=50987

I'm a geologist as well, but in West Texas......

Welcome aboard!

 The link works, but they don't like my ad blocker....I can disable it for individual sites, though.

West Texas counts, too. Energy is a global market, no matter what the governments do.

[uglybiker]

My dad worked in that industry for many years.

20 years for me. Mostly in a production lab/QC.
My Father was in it for over forty; working his way into engineering and later into management.  Eventually he served as plant manager at three different plants.

And I have one brother who worked for 18 years at a waste burning operation at a cement plant in S. Carolina.

They say that people in cement are mixed up and set in their ways. 

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Smoking Joe,

Thanks for starting this thread.  I look forward to reading it.  Here is a thread that I read daily for oil/gas info and stock info.  I hope the link works as I'm logged in as a member.

http://www.siliconinvestor.com/subject.aspx?subjectid=50987

I'm a geologist as well, but in West Texas......

Holy cow, I pulled up that thread and the Art Berman spurted out.  For those who do not know, he is one of the most anti-shale guys out there who got fired as an editor of World Oil.  Be careful when you read his posts.....

[Smokin Joe]

Holy cow, I pulled up that thread and the Art Berman spurted out.  For those who do not know, he is one of the most anti-shale guys out there who got fired as an editor of World Oil.  Be careful when you read his posts.....

Good to know, thanks!

[IsailedawayfromFR]

Good to know, thanks!

Sorry to inform you he is also a geologist.  Sorta a Chicken-Little variety who was scared to drill a well I suppose as he appears not to undertake risk.  I had him in my office once explaining his philosophy.

Example of his prognostications which did not become true:

http://www.outsiderclub.com/report/the-coming-bust-of-the-us-shale-oil-gas-ponzi/1041

[Bigun]

20 years for me. Mostly in a production lab/QC.
My Father was in it for over forty; working his way into engineering and later into management.  Eventually he served as plant manager at three different plants.

And I have one brother who worked for 18 years at a waste burning operation at a cement plant in S. Carolina.

They say that people in cement are mixed up and set in their ways. 

My dad (WWII South Pacific Marine) worked his entire career for Trinity Portland. Now merged into something else I believe.  I think he pretty much did everything that could be done over his lifetime.

[Smokin Joe]

Sorry to inform you he is also a geologist.  Sorta a Chicken-Little variety who was scared to drill a well I suppose as he appears not to undertake risk.  I had him in my office once explaining his philosophy.

Example of his prognostications which did not become true:

http://www.outsiderclub.com/report/the-coming-bust-of-the-us-shale-oil-gas-ponzi/1041

Sad to say, but roughly half of all geologists are below average (Engineers, too).

[uglybiker]

My dad (WWII South Pacific Marine) worked his entire career for Trinity Portland. Now merged into something else I believe.  I think he pretty much did everything that could be done over his lifetime.

My father was plant plant engineer of the Trinity plant in Houston in the late 60's and moved up to the plant Manager's spot at Dallas in late '71 or early '72.

[Bigun]

My father was plant plant engineer of the Trinity plant in Houston in the late 60's and moved up to the plant Manager's spot at Dallas in late '71 or early '72.

I'm sure they knew each other well!  My dad worked at that plant for many years.