Geothermal

Humans have been using geothermal resources for at least 10,000 years, but its recent attention is increasing in this whirlwind of interest that surrounds clean and renewable energy.

Geothermal systems use the earth's core temperatures to provide heat and power. Systems can range from basic wells, pipes, and controls that can heat and cool a single house, to elaborate piping under roads that melt ice and snow, to complex systems supplying steam for large powerplants.

Colorado is fortunate to have some of the nation's best geothermal resources (here's Colorado's geothermal map) and recognizing this, governments are looking at ways to enhance its use. The Governor's Energy Office has a working group analyzing this resource, the various technologies used, and incentives available, NREL has engineers and scientists devoted to advancing the technologies and commercialization of geothermal, and BLM continues to increase the number of leases on federal lands for geothermal projects.

Jobs in this sector include drillers, installers, pipefitters, HVAC technicians, engineers, mudloggers, as well as those ancillary positions in sales, management, contracts, landmen, analysts, IT, HR and administration.

Although I haven't yet seen an increased demand for geothermal specific jobs in our state, I predict this will change drastically in the coming years as this clean technology becomes more familiar and popular, and particularly if utilities look to Colorado's geothermal resources as they've done in other states such as California, Nevada and Utah. It's also a good way to get the oil rigs (many of which are now stacked from dropping crude prices) retrofitted to get them back to work.

Photo courtesy of otdrafting

Black Gold on TruTV

As you may have seen, there's a new "reality" television series on TruTV called Black Gold (from the creator of Deadliest Catch) that depicts three Texas oil rigs and their crews racing one another to extract "black gold" (crude oil).

Based on the two episodes I've watched so far, I would recommend this show to anyone who has no idea about what a oilfield job entails. I would also suggest reading this website's message boards under "Discuss the Show", as they contain quite interesting feedback from individuals who claim to be seasoned in this industry.

Here's the link to the site, which includes "sneak peek" videos of each episode, photos, and a helpful glossary of oilfield slang (in the "All About Oil" section).

Flex Rigs

Flex rigs are used to drill for natural gas. For this post, I'll highlight the Helmerich & Payne Flexrig 4 . These custom-built, automated rigs can quickly drill up to 22 wells from the same pad and can access resources 4,000 feet deep. The FlexRig is a prime example of the technology in America’s oil and natural gas industry used to reduce the impact of industry operations in environmentally-sensitive locations.

Williams Energy's FlexRig4 fact sheet contains the following information:

"We’ve worked with Tulsa, Okla.-based Helmerich & Payne to custom design the next generation of drilling rigs – FlexRig4. The rigs are faster, safer and cleaner. They enable us to drill more wells from a single location, allowing us to produce more natural gas from fewer locations and roads.

Technical Highlights
• Skid system allows rig movement in all directions – north, south, east and west
• The movement flexibility allows up to 22 wells to be drilled from single location without disassembling the rig
• Natural gas production can occur on the same pad where wells are being drilled and completed
• Drilling days per well are significantly reduced Safety Benefits
• Automated features improve safety of handling operations ("No-touch" pipe handling)
• Fewer rig moves reduce exposure of personnel to potential safety hazards
• Fewer workers are required per rig
• Driller controls rig in a protected, climate-controlled atmosphere

Environmental Benefits
• Number of well pads potentially reduced by 75 percent
• Fewer roads result in less vehicle traffic
• Consolidated operations reduce land use
• Surface reclamation occurs more quickly as a result of reduced drilling time
• AC electric rig is quieter, more fuel efficient"

To see this FlexRig 4 in action, watch this wmv video.

More information and specifications on other types of rigs can be found on RigZone.

Worms for Hire

It’s not what you may think…

The energy industry certainly has unique terminology. Position titles such as worm, swamper, mudman, gangpusher, and floorman are just a few examples. In my quest to create a comprehensive career ladder/lattice diagram for the energy industry, I would like to share with you information I’m gathering along the way.

In the energy industry a "worm" is an unskilled manual laborer. You’ll not likely see this term as a job title in ConnectingColorado.com, rather, titles such as "floorhand", "roustabout" and "leadhand" are commonly substituted (but duties/titles may vary among different employers).

Worms are usually the lowest member of the drilling crew hierarchy, above a ginsel—a worm’s helper--and below a roustabout / leasehand. At some companies, such as Ensign Energy Services, the leasehand is the entry-level position.

Worms / leasehands are responsible for doing whatever needs to be done on the grounds around the oil & gas rigs. Duties include basic tasks such as cleaning, digging ditches, moving equipment/supplies, building fences, and mixing drilling “mud” (fluid mixture used to lubricate & equalize the pressure when drilling wells). Crews generally consist of 5-10 members and sometimes several crews will work on one rig.

As with most field positions in oil & gas, work hours on rigs are normally 12 hours on and 12 hours off continuously for two or three weeks, followed by an equal amount of rest period at home. The work is hard and physical, in all types of weather, are in remote areas, and employers have zero-tolerance for drug use (frequently using surprise hair or urine analyses).

Workers live closely together like a family, sleep together, eat together and have to trust each other—they must cooperate in a group, led by a team leader termed "gang pusher" (ConnectingColorado job order #CO5255994). Accommodations are generally provided by the employer, in local hotels/motels or in "man camps"--groups of mobile homes, many comfortably equipped with food, cable, and internet.

For more information about these types of positions and employer-specific qualifications, please refer to the following job order numbers on ConnectingColorado.com (note: if the job is no longer available, you may not be able to view any information). There's also some more information on my Halliburton Intern post

CO5252371, Roustabout $12/hr in Craig (3.5 hrs W. of Denver)
CO5258048, Floorhand $22/hr in Wray (3 hrs E. of Denver)
CO5241792, Floorhand $16+/hr in Grand Junction (4 hrs W. of Denver)
CO5260035, Roustabout $14+/hr in Meeker (3.5 hrs W. of Denver)

With the exception of jobs in local utility plants, on local transmission lines, and the like, most entry-level field/laborer positions in oil & gas are located 3-5 hours west, south, and east of Denver, and include positions such as:

- Water truck drivers (CDL required, some require haz mat and/or tanker endorsements, and some will consider employing ex-offenders)
- Fracturing Operator Trainees
- Pipeline helpers / apprentice pipefitters
- Apprentice electricians
- Apprentice welders
- Heavy equipment operators
- Yard drivers (transporting crews)

Now you know what a worm is.