White Elephant Interns

Another day of maintenance in coil tubing. When we arrived this morning we sat around for about half an hour before they doled us out to people and their projects. I was so lucky as to be paired with a guy helping change filters, and fix a c pump on one of the pump trucks. First he showed me around it pointing out all the highlights. Then we propped the cab up (it's an over engine style tractor... old school) and looked around... then we put it down because we determined...well I dunno I think they may have just wanted to pawn it off on the mechanics. Either way we decided to wash it. That meant I stood around and waited my turn because they gave me the task of rinsing. The rinse hose has a small range but lots of water so you get soaked trying to do anything with it. I think they gave it to me because I'm the ignorant intern and they knew it was the worst part. Whatever. Anyway, they moved it into the shop afterward and I watched them change filters. I held one so it didn't spill diesel everywhere. Big day.

Before lunch we noticed that a couple guys were unloading watermelons onto the lawn in the yard--free for the taking! So I took one. Afterward I realized that I couldn't find my Clay (there are two, Anjelica was paired with the other Clay) and I was informed he probably just went to lunch. Awesome. So I did too. We ate and Slim Chickens (again) a place we LOVE. It was AMAZING as usual. We went ahead and took our time since everyone else seems to.

When we got back we were still ahead of everyone, so we visited the bulk plant. After killing some time we went to talk to Russel and Ryan about what to do with our afternoon. Unfortunately we were told just to head back to the boom truck with hydraulic problems that had been giving them fits since Saturday. We can't really help with this so we just stood and watched at a distance. Super boring. I think they forget we're around... again whatever. I wandered off to tell Russel and Ryan this and they were going to give us something else to do after they finished their paperwork but then the truck was fixed (finally!) and we had nothing to do. After a discussion of what to do with us it was decided that them spending time inventing tasks was a waste and we'd go home and work on our videos and papers. We got to leave early because we are basically inconvenient at this point. Oh well we got a short day and I'm not complaining.

After work we went to best buy to deal with Anjelica's sad camera and then we watched When In Rome... a predictable and super cheesy romantic comedy. It was cute. We also went to Wal Mart again for travel sized shampoo bottles for when we finally go out on a coil tubing job. I'm now trying to write my paper. It's been a pretty vanilla day really. Tomorrow morning we're going to go with Russel (who is the cell leader and a cool guy) to see a job site (all rigged up) for a quick tour to keep us from feeling so lost when we go...which seems like it will be Wednesday. Today wasn't a very inspiring day...sorry if this reads as boring to you (Mom, Scarlett, Nomi, Heather... possibly other people...) as it does to me. Hopefully tomorrow will be more exciting.

Gahhh Frac

So far Frac is my least favorite. The days are crazy long and as an intern who isn't qualified to do anything we just stand around and watch people do things...when they do them. Sometimes we stare at eachother doing nothing. It was also approximately as hot as the surface of the sun.

We had a 5am yard time this morning meaning we arrived on the job sight around 6:30 or so. Anjelica and I were then assigned to follow our new friend Chetsi (a new hire who lives in an apartment upstairs from us). She's a super green hat also so none of us are really qualified to do much. This is where a lot of the standing around originated I think. That and we were there for 14 hours and you can't possibly be busy for 14 hours straight. As far as I'm aware we completed about four stages on the two wells at the site. It could have been five because I wasn't sure exactly what was going on when we arrived that morning. When we got there they were fixing the POD (truck that mixes the sand and water for the job). At the end of the day they were having problems with the PCM (precision continuous mixer). In between there we frac'ed four or five segments of the wells and wireline guys set plugs between them. That was the day in a nutshell.

I learned a little more about the plug and frac interaction, the set up of the job (where the PCM and the acid trucks get into the sequence etc...), and the general atmosphere of a frac job. I also operated a shovel and was allowed to carry empty buckets back to the chem transport truck. I also learned that when everyone disappears they have gone to the tractor cabs to cool off and we were allowed to do the same. And we did. A lot. I also reaffirmed my ability to fall asleep sitting up and or standing propped against a truck. I didn't mean to but you can only watch sand fly into a slinger from a sand cheif for so long before your brain shuts down and your eyes and body follow suite. Woops.

Overall the day was kind of miserable. There is sand EVERYWHERE... all over everything and all over you. I can't imagine that anyone working as a frac'er would ever agree to go to the beach. It would be too much like work. On the plus side I drank just enough fluids to keep properly hydrated but I never had to use a port-o-potty (yea I sweat that much). Thank the Lord in heaven for that. I hate those things.

Tomorrow's yard time is 6:15 so that will be a bit better but I imagine that just means we'll be back a bit later. I hope not but I'm assuming the worst. We'll spend the day rigging up because we were just finishing the job when we left (it had started on Tuesday of last week and each well needed 13 stages which takes...well until Sunday night) and it is being rigged down tonight as I type this up. It's going to be a long day tomorrow and a long week. I'll try to remain faithful to you dear readers (Mom, Scarlett, and...well you may be it) and post nightly but I make no promises. If you don't hear from me, know that I am probably fine just really sweaty and sandy.

Frac Approaches

I have been spelling it wrong I think. I believe I should have stopped at the c (frac seems to be how everyone abbreviates it). Oh well... I'll press on.

Today we were supposed to have the morning with Reggie but he didn't have much to work on so we cleaned trucks early and helped him when we were done. We watched him test a truck and fix it and test it again. Actually we went to lunch in there (Taco Bueno which is my new favorite!). After lunch we also got Reggie to explain to us all the frac trucks and the basic set up of a frac job. That was our task for the afternoon--figuring out all the trucks in the yard (name and purpose). We also went through the coil tubing trucks with Eric (a coil tubing guy obviously). We're saving cement for tomorrow because we kinda know it already and tomorrow we have to diagram a job anyway.

Because it was a slow morning and we worked ahead we got to leave at 3:30. This meant we were home during daylight and we went to the POOL! I have been swimming precisely twice this summer which is horrifying considering my history with aquatic activity. it was a much needed swim. To top it off we ate Pioneer Woman pancakes again. Those things can change lives. For serious they are amazing. PW, I love you. After we ate pancakes (from heaven) we went to see Inception. Spoiler alert: It's AWESOME. Ok kidding about the spoiler part but not kidding about the awesome. (Dad, you would like it a lot. Go see it please. I'm sure it will come to Francie eventually. Do it. ) And the best part? I put on REAL CLOTHES for this. We're talking, JEANS, and NOT A T-SHIRT. I even wore MASCARA! Big night on the town! I haven't worn mascara in...weeks. I wear almost exclusively athletic shorts and t-shirts (don't even talk to me about a real bra...). Getting really dressed was kind of amazing in itself. Listen to me... I'm going slowly crazy.

Tomorrow we get to diagram the cement job and make sure we know about the cement trucks (that we already know so intimately... sleeping in them will do that). This shouldn't take long so we're going to treat ourselves to sleeping in and going in a little later than 7 and we're thinking we'll be out early again as well. Not sure what we'll do with our extra time but I'm sure we'll try to make the most of it. Frac starting Sunday is like a mini death sentence--you have two days to live and then... they own you. But it's only for a week and if this internship is teaching me anything, it's that I can go with the flow and tough it out for a week. Wish me luck!

The hottest day ever

Today we hung out with Reggie who maintains the iron. He is in charge of making sure that each piece of piping, chicksun (I guess how to spell that every time), and valve gets taken out of rotation for inspection at the correct interval and he also tests the equipment (trucks with pumps and so forth) before they go back into the field after they come in for maintenance. Testing of the iron is done at FMC (we were told this stands for Food Manufacturing Company... a company that has expanded beyond it's beginnings obviously) which is just down the road. Reggie drives over there to pick things up and drop things off daily. That's what we did this morning... except that he left us there for 30 or 40 minutes to help the big guy running the forklift organize the old jumbled iron sitting outside. Yep, we spent that time team lifting very heavy lengths of 3' and 4' pipe onto pallets and shuffling chicksuns from pallet to pallet so they were more organized. I sweat more than I have sweat so far this summer. Partly from the lifting and partly because today we were under a heat advisory and doing all this lifting in the morning sun. I know that I was ripe by the end of the day.

On a fun note we ate at a place named Holly's today for lunch. It's a place where a group of women just make what they want to make and you file up cafeteria style and just pick out a main dish and two sides and then pay at the end of the counter. I was good! Like having mom cook for me... miss you girl!

We (Anjelica and I...Nick's on his three day weekend) spend half of tomorrow with Reggie again and the second half we have to clean out the cabs of ALL the trucks in the yard. I'm not excited about this but I bought ForceFlex trash bags tonight for the cause and I plan to sneak some rubber gloves from the lab before we start tomorrow. Saturday we are to "inventory the trucks" which means we need to know what trucks are in the yard and what they all do. We also have to be able to diagram all the workings of a cement truck by the end of Saturday. Should be interesting.

Sunday begins frack. We'll call in Saturday night to find out our yard time and on Sunday we ship out for a 12 to 16 hours and then come home for a shower and brief nap before doing it again the next day. I don't think this will be my favorite part but I don't think I can get out of it. I've begged Kyle to come kidnap me and he refuses. He told me to be tough and that I could do it. It's like he talked to Dad. Suspicious. Anyway, Reggie used to be a fracker so he had some advice for us today. We went to Wal Mart (a theme of my life these days sadly) and got not-UnderArmor, Gatorade, and fruit. He assures us that these will be much needed items for the coming week. We are grateful to have had this talk with Reggie.

On an unrelated note I've eaten Toaster Strudel for breakfast for the past couple days. I haven't had those things in years and I've missed them. Mom wasn't one for random junk food but she did let us do the Toaster Strudel thing. Thanks, Mom!

Oh yea... it's PAYDAY!!!! My favorite day of all... something good on the hottest day ever.

We interns are cursed

Day two in the shop makes me think we interns have some kind of hex on us, at least when we're in the yard. At least me. We got split up today and I worked with Matt on rebuilding a slinger (the thing that mixes the sand and water for frack jobs) and NOTHING went the way it was supposed to. First of all people needed the crane so we sat around waiting for it for most of the day. Secondly, when we got things taken apart we had to take about another one to trade the sand plates. When we did, the water plate didn't match up with the new sand plate which has never happened before in the shop. Literally everyone was stumped by this. Once we got ANOTHER water plate and put it on, the reworked bottom and middle parts didn't fit together correctly. What should have taken an hour or an hour and a half took ALL DAY LONG and wasn't even done at the end of the day because it had to be torn down, scrapped out and re-done by the night shift. Matt was ticked. Fortunately I still learned a ton about slingers and in spite of the troubles I think I could probably rework one if I had to (under close supervision of course...). I know the difference between a road-side and a curb-side slinger (the direction of rotation of the water...and how that slurry will get to it's next destination on the truck due to it's orientation) and I know that you never re-use a slinger bolt or the bolts that connect the plates. I also know that the top, middle, and bottom parts of the slinger can be re-worked once and then they have to be scrapped. I told him I am nothing if not a good listener.

I realize I haven't put up pictures in a while so let's have a moment to go back and appreciate some of my past adventures as well as some more current ones, in photos...

The bulk plant team!

My first job! A surface (cement) job on a VERY small well. Shawn's crew--you'll note that I rode to the site in the truck with the tanks (at right) and the other truck mixes and pumps the cement (rear of said truck at left). Shawn's pick-up monitors it all!

I don't know why but it refuses to let me delete this duplicate photo of Shawn... sorry.

Shawn (unaware I am photographing him) as the cement is pumped. In the background, Jay the pump operator makes the magic happen.

My bed for my first two jobs... yep... the cab.

This is Kevin on my second job. He's fun. Not a fan of the camera but he's fun.

On that second job we found a HUGE bug. A bug of EPIC PROPORTIONS!!! Orange glove for reference and Anjelica in the background for added drama.

That's a slinger...kind of. It's 1/2 taken apart. The things that look like giant mints are the water plates. The white (new) one is bolted to the sand plate.

This is Matt... he's attaching the water plate. He's a little frustrated by now.

This is Adam putting the middle and bottom parts together...or trying. They don't fit. He's irritated because he's not the first to try and it still isn't working.

That's the silicone job I did... lots of silicone! I was told to "annihilate" that thing with the caulking gun. Mission accomplished.

Maintain!

So NyQuil commercials imply that the stuff will make you have a peaceful sleep such that you have never experienced. I think it's a lie. I have not had such stressful sleep...ever that I recall. I had crazy dreams about having to get things done (connected, pumped, mixed...I don't know) in spite of the fact that I knew I was sleeping in the apartment. I tossed and turned. It was crazy. I woke up feeling awful but I had some tea and took some Advil and long story short I feel much better.

Today we got a call to come in and help out in maintenance. Everyone's been telling us to try to avoid doing any time in maintenance but I don't think there's a way around it. By the time they called us and we made it in, the maintenance crew had headed out for lunch so we just sat around for a good 40 minutes waiting for someone to come get us and tell us what to do or where to go. Finally one of the cementing supervisors happened by and saw us sitting like bumps on a log and told us to go help his crew work on one of the pump trucks. We spent the day helping them replace the part that attaches the goose neck to the truck and regulates the recirculation and addition of cement. Actually there were too many cooks in that particular kitchen so we mostly watched and handed them things. Anjelica and I did get to repaint some of the iron on the truck (the 4 foot pipes, valves, and chicsens--the u-shaped swivels that allow you to change direction and level with your piping...that I have no idea how to spell correctly so that's my best guess). It was fun to hang with those guys today. They're good guys. Jay is one of my favorites. He randomly took me on a "tour" of the pump truck quizzing me on the parts and what they do so that I would learn more about the process. Jay also calls me Red which is kinda funny.

Tomorrow we'll start in regular maintenance with the mechanics. This is the part they suggested we should call in sick for. I'm sure it won't be as bad as they say. At least I hope.

Job 3... I'm getting better at this

Third job went out last night (7pm yard time got to the site a little before 10) and we got to sleep through the night. I'm in a much more positive mood after this job for a few reasons...

*I thought I'd have to go immediately on another job but Momma Sharron saved us and put us off to a night job. I love her.

*I discovered the sleeping outside on the fender of the ABT (truck with the cement tanks) is WAY more comfortable than the cab of the truck.

*Turns out that sometimes they have a trailer that no one is using and so we (the non-drivers who don't get sleepers) got to go sleep in BEDS. REAL BEDS. Granted they had no sheets but it was EONS better than the cab and even better than the fender.

* I had a fun crew this time around. Wednesday's crew was just...not...fun. They were serious and gloomy. My driver, Gary was nice enough but I got the distinct feeling that Ross didn't like me. He went on this job with us and he was nicer. I think it's just the mix of people you get. Brian, our engineer, was a good guy. "The best" according to Bucky (not kidding...his name is Paul but he hates it...so he goes with Bucky...whatever).

* The weather was reasonable today. I've been working at night and dreading a day job because of the heat and humidity but it rained last night and was overcast for most of the day. It got hot around noonish but then the rain came back. It soaked us but it did feel nice when it started. And we were about done anyway. I rode home soggy but not nearly as soggy as Danny (my driver) who had it "clear down to the underwear." These guys crack me up. They give each other so much crap over the CB radio and on site that it keeps you pretty entertained in spite of the fact that we sit for hours waiting for this and that.

This was a production job (like I think job 2 was) so we pumped cement for about 3 hours. During that time I am normally just standing (or sitting or perching) around hoping that someone will let me flip a valve open. Today they had me doing more of the same but I think I looked too stagnant so he sent me to the other side of the rig to watch returns. This means stand around out of site and watch the oil based mud come circulating back out of the ground to be sifted and settled before it goes back down. You do that to make sure it stays the same. You don't want circulation to slow or speed up. Not sure what that means to the job I just know it's not supposed to do that. So I stood there for what felt like an eternity (probably an hour or two) occasionally "helping" by glancing at the mud in the shaker. Don't worry, it stayed pretty constant.

In unrelated news, I forgot to mention I went to buy books the other day to read during the waiting parts and I treated myself to the Pioneer Woman cookbook. Great life choice. I already made the pancakes (Emily, you introduced me to them and PW herself, I thank you from the bottom of my heart) and they were spectacular! I'm sad that I am ill equipped to make much of anything in it just now but I'm stoked to get it home to my kitchen and whip up some amazing stuff. Get ready friends and family, I may try to feed you. Go with it--she's amazing and so is her food.

Job 2...Things are starting to run together...

I went on another job that followed nearly the same schedule as the first one again the night after. 6pm yard time and then on the job site around 9. Started working a little before 11 and wrapped up about 4:30. This time when we made it back to the yard (I again was in a coma for the whole drive home) I was told if I wanted to get some food I should do that quickly because we were going to catch another job. Exhausted, we drove to McDonalds and got breakfast. Anjelica is going into her weekend off so when we got back, Sharron told her that she wouldn't go on this second job. Turns out that crew's drivers had maxed out their driving hours so it became a huge headache to figure out how to get people there and who would do what. This is great news for us because Sharron said I could just go home with Anjelica and catch a job this evening. I'm super glad because A)I was TIRED and B)I am fairly certain that crew didn't want us tagging along anyway. Ok maybe it was just that Ross guy acting like a high school girl but it was irritating to be looked at like a nuisance.

I came home and slept until 2 when Anjelica needed a ride to the hair dresser. I ate something... thought it feels weird... my body has not accepted these new hours (just as well, who knows how long it'll last) and I think it's confused about when it should eat. Whatever. This is the part where I start to hate my "job"--I am sore from sleeping in those stupid cabs, my throat hurts from inadequate sleep (and likely being blasted in the face by AC while I am trying to sleep) and I just feel off. I just keep thinking that I only have to be tough until the end of the month. I'm just going to try to remain positive. "I LOVE lugging hoses and pipe. I LOVE lugging hoses and pipe. I LOVE lugging hoses and pipe..."

And so it begins...

My first job!!! I got a call yesterday at 5:15 that I had a 6pm yard time (I was informed later that no matter what they tell you your yard time is, you have an hour from their call so I overachieved by being there on time). I showed up and waited around for everyone to get there and do their pre-trip prep. I was assigned to Kevin, a young operator who apparently keeps getting the interns. We drove to the site in the 18 wheeler that brought the dry cement. I've been loading these trucks with the bulk plant so it was nice to have that pinch of familiarity. Kevin walked me through his pre-trip checklist, making me idle up the truck, and start the compressors to check for leaks in our tanks. Kevin is pretty knowledgeable and he was good at explaining things. Also on our ride was Shawn, the engineer, Jay the other operator and music guru (played music trivia via CB radio and he knows it all!) and the other green hat guy who's name I think was Daniel. (By the way, in case I forgot to mention this earlier, green hats are literal and they signify the new people. It makes us easy to look out for. Once you are hired on by the company and/or go to your first school you graduate to a white hard hat like everyone else.)

We drove out to the site and did a surface job which is just what it sounds like--we cemented casing for a shallow well. Sometimes it's just the first part of the well and it will go deeper after the cement sets but in our area most everything is shallow and horizontal so I think this may be it for this well. Because this was a very small rig (basically a rig truck and air drilling which I didn't know existed) this was an easier, shorter job. Rig up took about 10 minutes and the cementing took about half an hour. We arrived on site at 9:30 or so but they hadn't finished drilling and so we waited for them to finish and set the casing which took until 1:30. Hurry up and wait. We napped in the truck (as best we could...the front seat is not as comfortable as you might think and I slept in that morning so I only caught maybe 2 hours) until they finished. We worked until right about 5 am which is as early as we are allowed to drive. Our convenient finish time meant we got on the road without napping first. Kevin slept well in the bed in our cab so he was fine to drive, I, however was essentially catatonic and passed out not long into our drive. They made fun of me. "Puppy, here fell asleep" and "How's red doin' back there" over the CB radio...at least that's what I heard of it through my coma.

The job went as planned and I got to help the other green hat guy connect hose and tear down iron (the pipes that carry cement). I also played the nurse role and fetched them the tools they needed ("Scalpel!" "Wrench!" "Hammer!") I got plenty dirty carrying and lifting hoses and other such things. I think I did ok. At least I wasn't in anyone's way.