November 9, 2012

Visiting an Oil and Gas Drilling Rig Control Room

Posted by RealRanchers under Real Energy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

As you will recall, I toured an oil and gas drilling rig in the Jonah Field last fall. Encana representative Bob Myhre guided my tour group through the control room of rig #129 in the Jonah Field during the tour, which was hosted by Encana Oil and Gas, USA.

Here is some video I took while I was on the drilling rig:

In parts of the video it is hard to hear what’s being said, so my intent is for you to enjoy the sights from inside and outside the control room. To learn more about my tour of the drilling rig, read my first post.

As I look back through the photos, videos and notes I took during this tour of the 20,000 acre Jonah Field outside of Pinedale, Wyo., I’m amazed all over again by the technology used to produce these vital energy sources. I’m also amazed by the people who are proud to work so hard to keep the US and the world running!

From RealPartner Liz Lauck, Wyoming Stock Growers Association

 

October 18, 2012

Touring a Drilling Rig

Posted by RealRanchers under Real Energy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[2] Comments 

While touring the Jonah Field in Pinedale, Wyo. with Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc., we had the opportunity to tour a working drilling rig. You can read more about my trip to the Jonah Field in my first post.

Drilling rig #129 in the Jonah Field near Pinedale Wyoming, operated by Encana Oil and Gas to produce natural gas for American Energy supplies.

Above is Rig 129 on the Jonah Field. Each drilling rig in the United States has a unique, assigned number. I was interested to learn that the rig runs directly off of the natural gas from a nearby producing well. The use of natural gas reduces air emissions by a whopping 50% when compared to using diesel fuel.

Drilling rig #129 in the Jonah Field near Pinedale Wyoming, operated by Encana Oil and Gas to produce natural gas for American Energy supplies.

Here we all are, dressed to the nine’s in our FRCs and PPEs (fire retardant clothing and personal protection equipment). Robert Samples, the drilling supervisor, spoke to us about the particulars, science and safety behind drilling for oil and gas.

It takes approximately 15 days or less to drill each well. Encana and other energy companies often employ directional drilling, which allows one rig to access multiple gas reservoirs from one drilling location. This greatly reduces the environmental footprint. Oil and gas companies such as Encana are constantly discovering and implementing new and better technologies that reduce environmental impact and increase worker safety. What’s better for the environment and for energy workers, is better for the companies’ sustainability.

Drilling rig #129 in the Jonah Field near Pinedale Wyoming, operated by Encana Oil and Gas to produce natural gas for American Energy supplies.

Now we’re headed into the control room on the oil and gas drilling rig.

Control room on drilling rig #129 in the Jonah Field near Pinedale Wyoming, operated by Encana Oil and Gas to produce natural gas for American Energy supplies.

The control room looks a lot like how I imagine the inside of a space shuttle would appear. The rigs are automated with Iron Roughnecks and Iron Derrickmen, which reduces manual handling of pipe and increases safety for Encana workers.

Control room on drilling rig #129 in the Jonah Field near Pinedale Wyoming, operated by Encana Oil and Gas to produce natural gas for American Energy supplies.

This system carefully monitors many variables while the drill operates. It shows depth, drilling speed, pressure and more. The control room operator has a lot to monitor!

Drilling rig #129 in the Jonah Field near Pinedale Wyoming, operated by Encana Oil and Gas to produce natural gas for American Energy supplies.

Typical drilling locations impact only five acres of land and support multiple wells from the same site. The tour guides also reported that a rig in Colorado was able to serve 52 wells from the same pad. Now that’s progress!

From RealPartner Liz Lauck – Wyoming Stock Growers Association

If you are a Wyomingite involved with the energy industry, we want to share your stories! Contact liz@wysga.org or 307-638-3942 to learn more.

 

September 26, 2012

Beginnings of Jonah

Posted by RealRanchers under Real Energy | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
Leave a Comment 

A proverb tells us “from small beginnings come great things,” and this was the case with the Jonah Field. As you will recall from my first RealEnergy post, I was a part of a tour of this vast and productive oil and gas field near Pinedale, Wyo. last fall. Wyoming historian Ann Chambers Noble was on hand to give the tour participants an overview of the Jonah Field’s beginnings. It was wonderful to visit with Ann on the tour. She is a marvelous resource and has carefully documented a lot of important Wyoming history. Read her article on the Jonah Field and Pinedale Anticline, and check out her book Hurry McMurry on Neil McMurry who was the man behind the success of Jonah.

From Liz Lauck, Wyoming Stock Growers Association

 

July 3, 2012

Touring the Jonah Field – Part I

Posted by RealRanchers under Real Energy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[3] Comments 

Touring the Jonah Field – Part I

Last fall I had the exciting opportunity to tour the Jonah Field, hosted by our friends at Encana Oil and Gas, USA. The Jonah Field is located south of Pinedale, Wyo. It covers about 30,000 acres and has resulted in millions of dollars in tax and royalty revenues for federal, state and local funds.

View of Jonah Field from the tour bus’ window

In learning more about the Jonah Field I found these articles interesting: The Jonah Field and Pinedale Anticline: A natural-gas success story by Ann Chambers Noble (whom I met on the tour and found to be a wonderful wealth of historical information) and The Jonah Story on the Bureau of Land Management website.

We began the tour at the Sublette County Visitor’s Center. There we loaded on buses and headed to the safety office.

Sublette County Visitor’s Center in Pinedale, Wyo.

The side of the building next to the Visitor’s Center. Sublette County is deeply rooted in agriculture, as well as energy. The two industries share a lot of common interests, including proper use and care of the land.

Encana’s Community Relations Adviser Randy Teeuwen welcomes everyone on the tour bus.

While there, we also heard about the latest oil and gas exploration effort being undertaken – the Wyoming Normally Pressured Lance (NPL). Encana’s Randy Phillips talked extensively about these efforts, the government standards and procedures they must maneuver through and the latest technologies that will be used in the NPL to produce more oil and gas with less impact on the environment. I’ll talk more about this in another post.

Encana’s Randy Phillips talks about the Jonah Field, as well as the new Normally Pressured Lance field.

While at the safety office it seemed fitting that we go through safety training. They explained all the practices and procedures we needed to adhere to while in the field. Then they gave us some stylish safety outfits and accessories to wear. I think they were designed for the runways of Paris and New York.

Fire retardant jumpsuits for the tour

“Clackers” protect toes for folks not wearing steel-toed boots. They’re also incredibly stylish.

After all the great discussion we were all anxious to get in the field. We dressed up on all our PPEs and FREs (personal protective equipment and fire retardant equipment) and headed to a Central Delivery Point (CDP). Aren’t acronyms fun?

Central Delivery Point

Encana employee Jeff Strange explains the purpose of the Central Delivery Point to the tour group.

Many different natural gas wells are delivered to a CDP. Here the gas, oil and water are separated. From there the gas and oil is transported through pipelines to buyers across the country and the water (which is a natural byproduct) is used in fracking. Using CDPs helps Encana stay efficient, reduces emissions and creates less disturbance to the land.

Several wells are directed to each Central Delivery Point.

There is a meter house that is the point of custody and after the oil and gas pass by the meter it officially is owned by someone else.

The meter where the oil and gas leaves the ownership of Encana.

The tanks hold the separated oil and water.

Each well is operated off of solar panels and are monitored by computer. Employees also periodically check and monitor each well and each CDP to ensure everything is running correctly.

Each oil and gas well is operated by solar energy

We did a lot more on the tour and I look forward to sharing more in the weeks to come, so keep checking back!

From Liz Lauck, Wyoming Stock Growers Association

 

October 18, 2011

Tell her what she’s won!

Posted by RealRanchers under Culture, Real Partners | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
[5] Comments 

We recently hosted a promotion on our Facebook page. The 1000th person to “like” us won a prize package of Wyoming Made goodies! Our winner was Margreet from Ohio.

Our 1000th fan on Facebook won a large prize package of Wyoming Made goodies!

This is what Margreet told us about herself, “We have a small farm…set of 13 year old boy/girl twins, a 3 year old little girl, a golden retriever, a hamster, a cockatiel, a guinea pig and a bunny! I grew up in Holland (my dad had one of those large windmills) and was around animals all my life, so I guess there is always an interest.”

So obviously Margreet isn’t really involved in production agriculture, but we are so excited that folks outside the industry are connecting with www.realranchers.com to find out what REALLY happens in the meadows, mountains and Main Streets of Wyoming! We started this blog nearly a year and a half ago to help spread truthful stories and correct misinformation about agriculture and rural living.

Thank you to these Wyoming Made companies for your generous donation to our giveaway!

Baer's Pantry chokecherry jam

Baer's Pantry chokecherry jam

Baer’s Pantry, located in Carpenter, Wyo., offers all-natural homemade jams and Wild Chokecherry Syrup. Smucker’s ain’t got nothin’ on Baer’s!

Baker Farms whole wheat flour and Prairie Pie

Baker Farms whole wheat flour and Prairie Pie

Baker Farms On-Farm Bakery, located in Chugwater, Wyo., makes breads, cookies and organic whole-grain, whole-wheat flour. Contact Dennis & Terry Baker at dwbaker@vcn.com. Their Prairie Pies are unique and scrumptious!

Chugwater Chili spice mix, dip mix, jelly, steak rub and cookbook

Chugwater Chili spice blend, dip-dressing mix, red pepper jelly, steak rub and cookbook

Chugwater Chili Corp., is also located in Chugwater and is near and dear to my heart as my grandparents were one of the founding families. Their prize-winning chili spice blend has expanded to include dip-dressing mix, steak rub and more!

Encana Oil & Gas tape measure

Encana Oil & Gas tape measure

Encana Oil & Gas is an industry leader and very involved in Wyoming. They are a main sponsor of RealRanchers.com and contribute hundreds of thousands of dollars to bettering Wyoming every year.

Gaukel Grown & Ground whole-wheat bread, pancake and muffin mixes

Gaukel Grown & Ground whole-wheat bread, pancake and muffin mixes

Gaukel Grown & Ground is family-farming at its finest! Kevin, Julie and their children raise wheat at Keeline, Wyo. and create all-natural whole wheat mixes to sell.

Kaycee Cutter and tea towels from Miss in the Kitchen

Kaycee Cutter and cotton flour sack towels from Miss in the Kitchen

The Kaycee Cutter was invented by Tony Armstrong who ranches with his wife Milisa and their 3 boys in Kaycee, Wyo. It is made right in Wyoming and packaged and shipped from the ranch. Milisa also has a food blog, www.missinthekitchen.com, where she also sells these 100% unbleached cotton flour sack towels with printed designs.

Lucy's Sheep Camp Hand-Dyed Wool Products

Lucy's Sheep Camp Hand-Dyed Wool Yarn

Lucy’s Sheep Camp is located in Thermopolis, Wyo. and run by rancher Billie Jo Norsworthy. She sells high-quality, hand-dyed wool products from her own sheep. Her yarn colors are inspired by nature and will spark anyone’s creativity.

Coasters from Riversong Leather - Artist Leah Burgess

Coasters from Riversong Leather Studio - Artist Leah Burgess

Leah Burgess is the artist behind Riversong Leather Studio in Laramie, Wyo. She creates original designs and custom pieces which emphasize the natural strength and simple beauty of leather.

Wyoming Pure Natural Beef

Beef Jerky from Wyoming Pure Natural Beef

Wyoming Pure Natural Beef is owned and operated by the Goertz family in Slater, Wyo. They produce a high-quality product you can serve knowing that it was handled with care on the high plains of Wyoming.

The Wyoming Stock Growers supplied an "Eat Beef: The West wasn't won on salad" bumper sticker, Code of the West magnet, Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office ranch history book, and information about WSGA Supporting Membership

The Wyoming Stock Growers Association

The Wyoming Stock Growers supplied an “Eat Beef: The West Wasn’t Won on Salad” bumper sticker, a “Code of the West” magnet, a Wyoming ranch history book from the Wyoming State Historic Preservation Office and information about the WSGA Supporting Membership.

Wyoing Lifestyler Magazine

Wyoming Lifestyle Magazine

Wyoming Lifestyle Magazine is a wonderful quarterly magazine filled with Wyoming’s Treaures! You can pick them up for free at various places across the state or subscribe for a minimal fee.

We also sent some of these goodies to Pam in Colorado as a runner-up prize.

Thank you to all our loyal subscribers to the blog, followers on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube! Keep checking back and tell your friends, family, coworkers and strangers on the street about us.

From Liz Lauck, Wyoming Stock Growers Association

 

October 26, 2010

Encana & The Christmas Tree

Posted by RealRanchers under Real Energy, Real Partners | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
1 Comment 

In 2005, Encana Oil & Gas developed an innovative method of protecting wildlife habitat by decreasing surface disturbance and speeding the re-vegetation of disturbed sites.


Encana’s project includes laying down 8 x 13-foot wooden oak mats on the surface instead of disturbing plants and soil by scraping roads and well pads.  Creating an artificial location by applying the wooden mats on well sites protects the root system of native vegetation that may otherwise be damaged.  As mats are laid down, they flatten the plants, but topsoil and root systems will remain intact and undamaged.  The mats protect vegetation, reduce damage to native plant root systems and limit soil compaction caused by equipment and vehicles.

Encana recently donated the use of this innovative environmental planking technology to the Forest Service for Wyoming’s US Capitol Christmas Tree in order to protect the area near Wyoming’s perfect 67-foot Engelmann Spruce in preparation for the cutting ceremony on November 6.

The Tree Cutting Ceremony will be held on November 6 with members of the Northern Arapaho tribe blessing the tree and a celebration on the Jackson Town Square later that afternoon.  Beginning November 10, the Tree will make a 20-day trek across Wyoming and the nation to Washington, DC with celebration stops in communities all along the way.

From RealPartner Randy Teeuwen, Encana Oil and Gas

ABOUT THE CAPITOL CHRISTMAS TREE PROJECT

The Bridger-Teton National Forest, at the request of Senator John Barrasso, is leading the State of Wyoming in the delivery of the Capitol Christmas Tree for 2010.  This is the first time in the nation’s history that Wyoming has been selected to provide the Capitol Christmas Tree.

The Capitol Christmas Tree will grace the west front lawn of the U.S. Capitol in December 2010.  The Architect of the U.S. Capitol has already selected a 67-foot Engelmann spruce from the Bridger-Teton National Forest that will be cut, loaded, covered and prepped for travel in November to Washington, D.C.

In mid-November, the tree will be toured across the state of Wyoming before heading east to the U.S. Capitol.  In late November, the tree will be delivered to the U.S. Capitol, where it will be lowered into 5-foot deep hole, strung with lights, and decorated with thousands of handcrafted ornaments made by Wyomingites from across the State.  In December, the Speaker of the House, along with one Wyoming student, will light the tree and showcase Wyoming’s historical, cultural and natural beauty.

Through the holiday season, the tree will be lit at dusk, where it will be enjoyed by people from across world.  The theme of Wyoming’s tree is “Wyoming- Forever West.”

For more information on the Capitol Christmas Tree for 2010, please visit: www.capitolchristmastree2010.org.

Follow the Capitol Christmas Tree on:

Twitter at: www.twitter.com/BridgerTetonNF

And Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Capitol-Christmas-Tree-2010/104904166232147

 

August 5, 2010

Baggs Bloggers

Posted by RealRanchers under Culture, Real Partners | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |
1 Comment 

Baggs, Wyo. is one of those tiny communities in Wyoming you have to get to on purpose. It’s not on an interstate route and it’s not on the way to a larger city like Casper or Denver or Billings. You have to want to go there. You need to have a reason.

 

I was lucky enough to have a reason to venture to Baggs, Wyo. Its population, according to the town web site, is 348. Its history includes being stomping grounds for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Its people are one of a kind.

Baggs was one of the many hideouts for Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid and the Wild Bunch. Here stands the Butch Cassidy Cabin built in 1896 and cared for by the Little Snake River Museum in nearby Savery. Photo credit: http://www.takemytrip.com

When I traveled to Baggs for the first time last summer, I wasn’t sure what I was going to get. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m no stranger to small towns. I was born in Chugwater, Wyo. Home of Chugwater Chili and 244 residents. But every small town has its own culture and I wanted the Baggs community members to like me. I mean really like me (channeling Sally Field).

The Baggs Community Listening Session in summer 2009

You see, I was visiting Baggs as an intern for the Wyoming Stock Growers Association. WSGA teamed up with Encana Oil & Gas to go into five rural communities for a rural development project called Community Dialogues for Rural Wyoming. Long story short, Baggs, Boulder, Kaycee, Lusk and Shoshoni told us what they wanted in order to strengthen their communities’ futures. What they wanted was to be able to tell their remarkable stories. RealRanchers.com does just that.

One of the families that welcomed me into their community was the O’Toole Family who ranches south of Baggs. As 4th generation ranchers on an operation of six generations, Pat and Sharon O’Toole raise sheep and cattle while constantly working to improve the land that sustains them. They have great help in this endeavor from their daughter Meghan, her husband Brian Lally, their son Eamon and his wife Megan.

Pat O'Toole and his granddaughter, Maeve, on their ranch south of Baggs, Wyo.

Sharon O’Toole tells the family stories on their blog at http://www.westernfolklife.org/weblogs/artists/sharono/. We’ll be sharing her stories with you through RealRanchers.com, so look forward to seeing her amazing photos and stories about the every day miracles of ranch life.

Thanks to the Baggs community for welcoming me. As in any small community, it’s not just those in the town limits that make the place tick, it’s the entire rural character that keeps things chugging. I’m grateful to have a role in telling their stories.

From RealPartner Liz LeSatz, Wyoming Stock Growers Association

 

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 296 other followers