Having been on this planet seven and a
half decades I am occasionally asked if age brings wisdom. I think not. What it
brings is scars, and the desire not to get anymore. Of course, we simply find
new ways to get scars, physical and mental.
The Patch
What oilfield workers call their
workplace, the patch. The drivers I shuttle haul water. Water comes up with the
oil. Where we operate, most wells are connected to pipelines and the product is
brought to stations. One station our drivers service is receiving 1,000 barrels
an hour. At these stations, the oil and water are separated and our company
hauls the water to a central facility. There the water is further treated and
then injected into deep wells below the area aquifers.
There are dozens of companies doing this
work along with independents.
Other companies specialize in maintaining
equipment at various sites. One company has a 6 am meeting. The meetings don’t
seem to last long. Sorry, can't get the damn picture upright.
Disclaimer
I know little about the oil and gas
business but am learning from the drivers I shuttle. I know more about the
politics surrounding the business. Should one look at these drivers and their
attire and then think they are dumb, they would be wrong. Their language would
cause a mass exodus to safe places, if heard on campuses, but the context would
put many an “intellectual” to shame.
Political
In the last general election Proposition
112, which would have severely hampered the gas and oil extraction industry
went down to defeat with 57% of the voters rejecting it. Promptly the
(P)regressives, having control of both State chambers made it an emergency law
and deep purple Gov. Polis signed it. Drilling outside of a few counties has
stopped and extraction from existing wells is down in many counties.
This
law is a trial lawyers dream as it strips mineral owners of their rights with
not even a semblance of due process or compensation.
All those drilling platforms are readily
transportable to other sites.
Drivers
My sister says the qualifications for
getting and keeping a driving job in the patch is, “Have a CDL, pass a piss
test, and show up consistently”. She may be right. I transport drivers who are
making $80,000+ annual. A rough looking bunch, they don’t have student loans in
default.
They do spend money, dropping $10 -$30
for food, snacks, and drinks. Pictures below were taken at 0430.
Future
I’m having doubts about how long I can do
this job. Age may be biting me in the ass. I certainly enjoy the $361 direct
deposit every Friday. That said, putting the passengers I transport at risk is
something I won’t do.
My other endeavor, the delinquent mortgage
business is picking up. Next Monday will see a trip to Northwest Colorado. That
should give me a chance to visit the museum in Craig, CO
Commute
A dangerous intersection I must cross at
Pecham. CO. Several years ago a co-workers wife was grievously injured there.
While she survived, their lives were altered forever. I remember them every
time I cross.
Time constraints will continue to keep
blogging light. Thank all of you who continue to read my scribbles.
15 comments:
I had a run in with the North Sea Oil business at one point in my young life. I actually like the guys and the life, so that may speak volumes about me. There is nothing easy about the oil biz, but for the most part, it pays well.
Donkey politicians are a weird lot, fearful of oil. Yet their lives and those of their constituents are all completely entwined with oil and it's derivatives. I chalk it up to their enduring ignorance.
This will play out over years in the courts. The ONLY people who will make money are the lawyers... dammit...
This will play out over years in the courts. The ONLY people who will make money are the lawyers... dammit...
"Does wisdom come with age?" is one of those questions that can best be answered as "Maybe".
The only oil biz people I've ever met are the Alyeska guys up at the Valdez Terminal who bought a bunch of stuff from a company I worked for, and I got to go up there to install the equipment and train the people.
They were a lot like the heavy-duty railroad guys I worked with at Conrail in Pennsylvania, and all the Merchant Marine and Longshoremen guys I've known.
Rough and ready, and salt-of-the-Earth. I'd much rather have them on my side than pissed off at me!
LL
My mind boggles when thinking of all the money and human resources that go into putting fuel into tanks at the local StopNRob.
Old NFO
Since many office holders are lawyers, my cynical self says this isn't an accident.
drjim
Agree!
Wisdom come with age, IMHO, in how much you learned from years past. Nothing beats experience... unless it is luck. But luck teaches you nothing... sooooo....
CP
30 years experience or one year's experience done 30 times?
I was once stationed as an instructor at Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, TX: smack dab in the heart of the Permian Basin. It smelled of crude oil from dawn to dusk. When I first got there, I said, 'what the hell is that stench?' A Texan native, also serving with me as an instructor said, 'that's the smell of money.'
Everybody in that town, with the exception of military personnel, was somehow connected with the oil industry, or as they call it 'the awl biness.' It put food on the table, and all the politicians involved in the area smooched oil-connected butt at every opportunity. It guaranteed re-election.
In answer to your age old question: does age bring wisdom? Yes, yes it does. Learning from your mistakes over the decades, and better yet learning from other people's mistakes over the decades tends to make you look smarter than you were when you were young, dumb and bullet proof.
Ah, the Permian. New shale deposits have been found that, if exploited, can fuel the entire world for centuries I've been told by people in the awl business.
Great post! I was just fascinated by the oil field workers myself. Are a different breed. They are rough tough and blow money like you would never know. Of course there's always the ones that failed a piss test every two weeks and come back but the real ones who are honest to goodness oil field workers, are an interesting breed. The funny thing is when the oil dries up or we go through a bust, then they go bust as well. But when it's booming, they are booming. I couldn't do their job. I do admire them for that hard life.
MF
They give a new meaning to "Cowboy UP"!
Interesting post. Sure would be nice to have a well or three on the back 40.
Age brings as much wisdom as old, dumb, and not bullet proof will allow...
Brig
Had a great uncle by marriage who was a bully. His dried up piece of land got an oil well and he started getting a small royalty. He was constantly bothering the oil company personnel. Finally, the y had enough.
The manager said, "Mr. Weiss, that oil has been in the ground for a million years. It isn't going anywhere. We are shutting down the well until your miserable ass dies and will only pay you the $100 a year lease. Don't call me again".
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