Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes...

Today we had a TVD change. TVD stands for True Vertical Depth. In short, we don't drill straight down, we are in the business of directional drilling and therefore drill curves, s-wells and usually parabolic-shaped wells. When we do this we actually track depth in different ways-- One way is called measured depth which accounts for the amount of pipe in the hole and another is true vertical depth which accounts for the distance from the earth's surface to point where we begin running parallel to the earth's surface (90 degrees).

Change is good...usually. Today it helped us out a bunch because we were already drilling upwards and needed a change since the formation holding our gas is moving up toward the earth's surface. We had another change today. Many employees of our company received pay cuts. Healthy pay cuts. The economy is not looking good. Much to my chagrin, the oilfield is expected to decrease by another 10-20% by the end of the 3rd quarter. However, the stock market has seen a surge in the past 4 days and Obama says that the crisis is not as bad as we all think.

There were other changes today... After wallowing in self-pity, Citibank stocks are hovering around $3.00 a share, yet they now are refusing government aid. So where is all that pre-approved bailout money going to go? GE lost its top-tier status with S&P and Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway is no longer 'AAA' rated. But change has come to America. We all voted for it so here it is. Illinois knows all about it as they face a 50% income tax hike. All this change has got me saving my pennies.

We are agents of change. It's bound to happen, we adapt and evolove to the environment around us. But it appears to me that the issues remain the same. We've lost nearly 45% of the world's capital in the past 2.5 years and we can't be quick to call this economic crisis over. I foresee false hope and empty promises ahead and I'm going to be sure to hedge my bets. Salary cuts or not, I'm still happy and proud to have a job and if you're not sitting at home jobless you should be counting your blessings too.

A toast to change...because without change there would be nothing to save.

God Bless,
rf

Rigging Up: Trip #1

Good day, Dopeheads. Today begins the first installment in an unlimited and informative series of rig terms to educate you about the drilling process. I call it "Rigging Up"

Rigging Up: Any process involved in building the rig, running electrical wires and establishing connections around the rig so it works. (e.g. "Let's rig up the depth encoder so we can track our depth."

Trip: A rig trip is when we move pipe in or out of the hole, usually to change the BHA (bottom hole assembly). (e.g. "We're tripping out because the bit is worn.")

BHA: Bottom Hole Assembly. This changes often but usually includes the drilling bit, the mud motor, the non-magnetic monels, heavyweight drill pipe, stabilizer subs and a number of other metal connections at the bottom of the tool string. (e.g. "Time to change the BHA.")

Joint: A piece of drilling pipe usually about 28' to 32' in length. (e.g. "We have 130 joints in the hole")

Sub: A shorter metal connection with a pin and box end or box to box end for connections various other joints...usually between 2' and 9' in length. (e.g. "Pick up that muleshoe sub so we can orient the mudmotor.")

Now people wouldn't think of the oilfield as a glamorous place but Hollywood and Aerosmith obviously thought so and made the blockbuster hit, Armageddon (Touchstone Pictures, 1998) to romanticize the world of drilling. In this spirit, y'all should know that we have a catwalk on location. The catwalk is a length of plank iron that extends off the sub-floor of the drilling rig. The catwalk is where we lay pieces of pipe before we pick them up and connect them to the drill string before and after we connect them to the rest of the pipe. It's a waiting area. Just as in the world of high-fashion, the catwalk is a dangerous place and easy to fall from.

Also, my dad is "unbreakable" like Bruce Willis.

Just another day in paradise. Hope to see y'all soon.
rf