We always strive to pay it forward whenever, wherever we can to various Charities and People we feel may need it…

To start off 2008 we have decided to Donate 100 Gallons of Oil to a Family who cannot afford to heat their home. This can be done thru the program that Citgo is currently running….

We ask that anyone who reads this Blog visit the Website Below and Donate ANYTHING they can even if it is just $5.00. Imagine what your life would be if you and your children had to sleep on the Kitchen floor in front of an open oven to stay warm at night.

Next time your a sipping on your half caff, skinny, Mocha Latte think of how that may have helped a child sleep that night……

I am sure the $10,000 Britney Spears just blew at Kitson this week could have kept 10,000 Families Warm this Winter!!

} The Mrs {

A great tool that has tasught me alot and prepared me to hit the soil immediately and begin as a roughneck.

http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/etools/oilandgas/pdf/oilandgasglossarytask.pdf#search=%22how%20does%20oil%20rig%20work%20lead%20tong%22

WHAT IS THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY?

This industry is involved in the finding, drilling for, production, shipping, refining and selling of crude oil and natural gas deposits found beneath the earth’s surface. These natural resources are found either in liquid (oil) or air (gas) form and are used to produce heating and motor oils, propane, gasoline, kerosene, butane, methane, benzene and tars. These are primarily used around the world as fuel - to heat houses and to power vehicles and machinery. Oil and gas products are also used in detergents, insecticides, wax, asphalt, aerosols and refrigerators.

FINDING THE OIL AND GAS

Initial exploration involves subsurface geological mapping and seismic activity to find potential petroleum deposits. This work may happen several years before drilling activity. Seismic lines are cut through the forest, sometimes for several miles. Crews work along these seismic lines drilling shot holes. The holes are loaded with explosives. These blasts send sound waves into the ground. The sound waves bounce off hard rock layers and return to the surface. Electronic phones record these sound waves to help determine the size and shape of the rock below the surface. Oil and gas are usually found in sandstone or limestone under a harder “cap” rock such as shale.

IS IT WORTH DRILLING A WELL?

Seismic information may give a good indication of potential petroleum deposits. An actual well has to be drilled to confirm that there is oil or gas. These deposits are often filled with only salt water. Getting resources out of the ground can be very expensive and companies must decide if the deposit is worth the risk and costs of drilling. If the well is drilled and it looks good, steel casing will be run to allow production. If the well is not good, they will plug the hole with cement and move onto another drilling site.

PREPARING THE SITE

A drilling location requires an area of land cleared and leveled to accommodate the drilling rig and a camp for the work crews. Roads are built to these locations so that the rig and supplies can be trucked in. Often in remote areas, an airstrip is also built to be used for crew and supply flights. This wellsite area and road would also be used throughout the producing life of the well, to accommodate production equipment, storage tanks and the wellhead equipment.

GETTING THE OIL & GAS OUT OF THE GROUND

Drilling rigs have to dig thousands of feet below the ground to reach the petroleum deposits. Many services are required to get the well drilled. Some of these include: wellsite geologists, water haulers, welders and mechanics, cementing crews, casing suppliers and truckers, and road grading and maintenance personnel. Rig crews consist of a driller, derrick hand, motor hand and roughnecks. The rig operates 24 hours a day utilizing 2 or 3 crews.

When petroleum is discovered the drilling rig moves away and a service rig and a new crew is needed to get production to the surface and to market. Some of these services include: service rig crew, production testers, fluid trucking services, wellhead and production equipment suppliers, pipeline crews, and production well operators.

SHIPPING THE OIL & GAS

Both oil and gas have to be handled with extreme caution. Most of the time pipelines are used to transport the natural resources to the refinery or the place where they will be sold. People are needed to build the pipelines and bury them in the ground for protection of both the pipeline and the environment. A different one is needed for oil and gas. If the site is near the ocean, large tankers transport the oil and gas in bulk.

REFINING THE OIL & GAS

After the oil and gas have been taken out of the ground they need to be refined before they can be used. Refining means to remove all of the impurities that are found. Then the oil and gas can be sold to other companies where it can be made into fuel or gasoline or other products.

WATCHING THE ENVIRONMENT

Studies must be done to make sure that the plants, animals and water surrounding the drilling sites will not be disturbed. Companies must try to leave the site as close as possible to what it was like before the camp opened. They must reforest any areas they cleared and clean up any oil spills. This reclamation work is done by people trained in renewable resources and environmental management. There are very strict rules so that there are very few environmental effects from exploration and drilling work.