OFFLINE

Originally Posted by Dennis Young:

Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:
AND oil prices are down right now, because for the past 3 months people have been driving less. which is what obama and his energy secretary want. this is the reason they want to have gas prices "necessarily skyrocket" to around 7$ per gallon, like in europe. and have said as much on the record.

I suspect thats what is going on too.  Obama has pretty much admitted his plan would force energy prices up.  And its likely he wants to create a situation where the people will demand other sources of energy and get us off oil.  

I'm not against moving toward other sources of energy.  But to do so in such a drastic manner hurts poor people like myself.  Especially when you live in a small town and industry and jobs are miles away.  Most folks here have to commute.  And there are no facilities in place here that service electric automobiles.  No train service either.  What about us?

but the thing that's so stupid to me, is that they're trying to push electic cars as a replacement. well i dunno how many times i've said it, but that electricity has to come from somewhere. and  coal and nat. gas make up more than 2/3rds of our powerplants. so if saving the planet is their goal, electric cars wont work.

OFFLINE

Originally Posted by Bryant Platt:


Ah, now I get who you are.  I've been trying to figure out whos who from the old group.

What exactly is going on with the Point Conception?  From the geologic maps it would appear that that area (both on land and out to sea) is riddled with thrust faults, how does one design both rigs and pipelines to mitigate the risk of failure due to earth quake?

I guess I should have signed my posts Marconius. That's how I knew you.

We use what is nothing more than modified expansion joints on both the production platform legs and on the pipelines. We also load the pipeline down with automated shut-in valves at various important sections of the pipe. All wells on the platforms have shut-in valves downhole and they are tested monthly. These activate at the slightest tremor.  Even the platforms are engineered to be many times more sturdy than what is found in most locations. They can loose almost 1/2 their support legs before collapse. Fire systems, pressure vent systems, hell even the produced water systems are built to a higher standard than what API dictates.  

Of course it is actually beneficial to the environment to harvest those reserves if we think about it. Oil has good capillary qualities and quite regularly seeps from the faults. Lack of oil in those pockets means  lack of oil to "seep through the cracks". We had the permits approved on 3 separate occasions only to watch special interest groups kill it at the last possible minute. Now everything just sits there waiting to be used. We couldn't laydown any new structures, so we had to add on to what  was already  there, both on land and offshore.

OFFLINE

Are you working on a rig these days?  Or did Obama screw that up?  Also, what do they mean by floating platforms?

OFFLINE

What do you guys think about this?  I thought it was interesting that he excluded the Pacific Coast and Basin and Range Province, however that may well be because the political discussion has to date mainly focused on the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.

OFFLINE

My first reaction is that I need to defer to Mark on much of this since he knows a lot more about it than I do.    I'm also aware that this is the beginning of election season, but if he can drop gas prices, I'm all for that.

It sounds like good news.  I wonder why he has only just now decided to reopen areas of the Gulf and Alaska though.  And you're right...why no mention of the Pacific?  Sounds like a drop in the bucket really.  Plus I dont understand the pros and cons over oil subsidies.  I worry that if oil barons lose their subsidies, they'll pass this loss of revenue on to the customer.  

also I still support exploring ways to bring us clean energy and throwing off the yoke of foreign oil.  But until we get there, I think we should drill.  

OFFLINE

Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
Are you working on a rig these days?  Or did Obama screw that up?  Also, what do they mean by floating platforms?

Never have worked on a rig there Dennis. Most people think all those structures out there are rigs, but rigs make up a small percentage. Basically a rig arrives on scene and drills the wells. After the drilling and the BOP's are replaced by downhole valves, a production platform is put into place. A "platform", as we call them, is what actually flows the product and separates it for shipment to land. Platforms are what I work on so stopping the drilling doesn't stop me that often. Basically I help build new production platforms and facilities. I make sure they are built to specs and codes. I also handle design changes as they pop up ('cause they always will). Right now, I am not working on an offshore job. Last one was that job in Africa, but that ended a few months ago. Getting ready to go to Texas, just south of San Antonio. Gonna finish taking some time off 'cause this next one is supposed to last a year or two.

A floating platform is a production platform placed in water too deep for solid support legs. These platforms are chained to the sea floor to keep them on location. Spars (single ballast leg, look like a huge mushroom) and TLP's (tension leg platforms;  ballast legs) are the most common floaters. If I knew how to posts pics on this new forum I would show you some. Maybe one day I will take the time to learn, but right now I am not a fan of Facebook.

OFFLINE

what do i think? bout damn time. he helped create the problem, and now with re-election around the corner, he's stepping in to solve the problem. practicality again winning out over ideology.

OFFLINE

Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:
AND oil prices are down right now, because for the past 3 months people have been driving less. which is what obama and his energy secretary want. this is the reason they want to have gas prices "necessarily skyrocket" to around 7$ per gallon, like in europe. and have said as much on the record.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13338754

Petrol is expensive in Europe because we tax the hell out of it. But we have more public transport, our cars are smaller and more fuel efficient to compensate. You have a long long long way to go before you are anywhere near Petrol prices in Europe. If the market pushes the price of fuel up, why not buy a car that does more MPG? Or walk a bit, those sidewalks aren't there to show where the roads end. ;-)

OFFLINE

DP

OFFLINE

Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:
AND oil prices are down right now, because for the past 3 months people have been driving less. which is what obama and his energy secretary want. this is the reason they want to have gas prices "necessarily skyrocket" to around 7$ per gallon, like in europe. and have said as much on the record.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13338754

OFFLINE

Originally Posted by Lee Newham:

Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:
AND oil prices are down right now, because for the past 3 months people have been driving less. which is what obama and his energy secretary want. this is the reason they want to have gas prices "necessarily skyrocket" to around 7$ per gallon, like in europe. and have said as much on the record.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13338754

Petrol is expensive in Europe because we tax the hell out of it. But we have more public transport, our cars are smaller and more fuel efficient to compensate. You have a long long long way to go before you are anywhere near Petrol prices in Europe. If the market pushes the price of fuel up, why not buy a car that does more MPG? Or walk a bit, those sidewalks aren't there to show where the roads end. ;-)

The way our communities are built are vastly different. Communities here are much larger in land coverage than England's communities of similar population (except for maybe our eat coast). High fuel prices affect us greater than it does you guys and most of the time walking it just doesn't cut it.

OFFLINE

Yeah, the legacy of rapid expansion into wide open areas in the West (and presumably SE?) favored urban sprawl over building up.  Some areas still manage to have effective public transportation, however in most of our urban centers (like Fresno) the public transit isn't socially accepted (ie only the 'unclean' and poor use it, and no one wants be considered part of that group) and often isn't overly pragmatic (many people commute from large distances and from small towns not worthy of a rail line).

OFFLINE

Originally Posted by Lee Newham:

Originally Posted by Dødherre Mørktre:
AND oil prices are down right now, because for the past 3 months people have been driving less. which is what obama and his energy secretary want. this is the reason they want to have gas prices "necessarily skyrocket" to around 7$ per gallon, like in europe. and have said as much on the record.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13338754

Petrol is expensive in Europe because we tax the hell out of it. But we have more public transport, our cars are smaller and more fuel efficient to compensate. You have a long long long way to go before you are anywhere near Petrol prices in Europe. If the market pushes the price of fuel up, why not buy a car that does more MPG? Or walk a bit, those sidewalks aren't there to show where the roads end. ;-)

Yep, I'd heard that taxes drove the price of gasoline up in Europe.

Why dont we buy smaller cars?  This seems to be what many in the White House think.  Actually, many have bought smaller cars  Many others (like myself) cant find a job.  Unemployment in certain areas of our nation is much higher than the national average and it costs a lot to pull up stakes and just move.  So most of us have to commute to work (if we have a job).  Which is why we cant walk.

The better answer for us is to open up drilling here...now. And build new refineries.  This will open up jobs by the thousands...nmaybe more and increase supply.  People with money in teir pockets usualy go out and buy things, which would stimulate our economy.  A win win situation for us.

Our current President doesnt believe this even though it ha proven to be true many times before.  Like the stte govt in California, he is so caught up in the Green 'save the world by taxing the heck out of the people' myth that our nation is in trouble...just like California.

OFFLINE

Originally Posted by Mark Simmons:

Originally Posted by Dennis Young:
Are you working on a rig these days?  Or did Obama screw that up?  Also, what do they mean by floating platforms?

Never have worked on a rig there Dennis. Most people think all those structures out there are rigs, but rigs make up a small percentage. Basically a rig arrives on scene and drills the wells. After the drilling and the BOP's are replaced by downhole valves, a production platform is put into place. A "platform", as we call them, is what actually flows the product and separates it for shipment to land. Platforms are what I work on so stopping the drilling doesn't stop me that often. Basically I help build new production platforms and facilities. I make sure they are built to specs and codes. I also handle design changes as they pop up ('cause they always will). Right now, I am not working on an offshore job. Last one was that job in Africa, but that ended a few months ago. Getting ready to go to Texas, just south of San Antonio. Gonna finish taking some time off 'cause this next one is supposed to last a year or two.

A floating platform is a production platform placed in water too deep for solid support legs. These platforms are chained to the sea floor to keep them on location. Spars (single ballast leg, look like a huge mushroom) and TLP's (tension leg platforms;  ballast legs) are the most common floaters. If I knew how to posts pics on this new forum I would show you some. Maybe one day I will take the time to learn, but right now I am not a fan of Facebook.

Ah, I see.  So the rig digs.  And the platform sorta produces?  Thats what most of us see out there then.  

Those chains that anchor the platforms to the sea bed must be huge!  How do they do that?