Steem Oil and Gas - Spudding in with the Executioner

There was the matter of the Steem-osphere reservoir.

Steem-osphere? I couldn't have coined this great word, credit to the magnificent seven for I discovered this word on one of my trips there.

The Steem Blockchain Community is all about adding value and rediscovering our humanity, so I came up with my own plan.

It's high time I drilled into the Steem-Osphere and recover the great resources buried, where I'll be sharing from my reservoir, knowledge of the oil and gas industry in simple and easy to understand terms, I said to myself.
Though I'm still looking for a way to present the whole idea, but I'm positive I'll get there gradually.

It will be a series of fun facts, history, knowledge and a whole lot of educational information about the latest developments and challenges facing the Oil and gas industry.

I'll start by introducing myself as a student member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

The League of SPE Volunteers taking a Spelfie during one of our community outreach

I just finished serving as the Secretary General of my student chapter in the University of Uyo, Nigeria. SPE was founded in October 6, 1957. I had to talk about its founding date before anything else, because I don't want a repeat of what happened during an SPE sponsored scholarship to happen again, where instead of 1957 I boldly gave the answer to when this great body was founded as 1859, and believe me it almost cost me the scholarship.

Do you care to know what happened in 1859?
OK, I'll touch an aspect of that. Well, that was when the first commercial oil well was drilled. It was drilled by Colonel Edwin Drake in Titusville, Pennsylvania Texas. OK that's enough information for today, we'll be learning more about the industry in our subsequent series.

Now you know why I stated its founding date before anything else, because safety is paramount in the oil industry. And in this case I'm taking safety measures by writing it out first, that way I'll never forget it.

So can we get to knowing about the international body known as SPE?

The Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) is a not-for-profit professional organization whose mission is to collect, disseminate, and exchange technical knowledge concerning the exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources and related technologies for the public benefit and to provide opportunities for professionals to enhance their technical and professional competence.

The Birth of a Growling Industry

As an SPE member it's fun when you get to share your knowledge of the history and latest developments happening in the Oil and Gas Industry.

Let's start with learning about an important and integral component of the E&P (Exploration and Production) industry. Shall we?

The Derrick

You see this beauty of a towering figure, it is known as a Derrick and it symbolizes the E&P industry.

Fun Fact about the Derrick

Did you know that the Derrick which is a principal part of the Drilling Rig, used in the oil and gas industry got its name from Thomas Derrick a 17th century Englishman that invented a system of ropes and pulleys for his occupation, this later would become the inspiration for the drilling Derrick.

He was an Executioner (Hangman), and that's how the drilling derrick got its name. Who knows maybe you could invent something that gains you prominence in the booming Oil and Gas Industry. Not to worry about me, I'm already working on my invention.

The Derrick

The derrick is a principal component of the Hoisting System. It is a large load-bearing structure used for lifting or moving heavy objects, it also has four legs and is usually of a bolted construction.
The hoisting system provides a means of lowering or raising drillstrings, casing strings, and other subsurface equipment into or out of the wellbore(hole).

Function of the Derrick

• The Derrick provides the vertical height required to raise section of pipes from and lower them into the wellbore(hole).

Stand of Pipes on the Platform ready to be hoisted by the Derrick

In the Oil and Gas Industry, when drilling, tripping time must be reduced at all costs, thats where the length of the Derrick comes into play.

Can you spot the Stand of pipes?
The greater the height of a Derrick, the longer the section of pipes it can handle at a time, the faster a section of pipe can be inserted or removed from the wellbore and thus, the lesser the time spent on tripping operations. So we now know that tripping is the process of pulling out or inserting the drillstring into the wellbore.

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So let's end with a question for today. What other functions can the Derrick provide? Is it used only in the Oil and Gas Industry nowadays?

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Image Sources

1. All pictures are courtesy of Pixabay except the first one which is a spelfie taken by my friend @prosperfresh.

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References

1. SPE

2. Wiktionary

3. Applied Drilling Engineering Textbook