The Message Forum is an ongoing dialogue among classmates. The goal is to encourage friendly interaction, including interaction among classmates who really didn't know each other. Experience on the site has revealed that certain topics tend to cause friction and hard feelings, especially politics and religion. 

Although politics and religion are not completely off-limits, classmates are asked to be positive in their posts and not to be too repetitive or allow a dialog to degenerate into an argument. 

Forums work when people participate - so don't be bashful! Click the "Post Response" button to add your entry to the forum.

Sandra Spieker (Ringo)

Ron,

As I recall that concert, everybody was pretty drunk,  Jerry Jeff Walker, Jimmy Buffet, the cowboy and the hippie (cosmic cowboy).  Everybody except me.  I was not drunk!

Ron Knight

 Sandra, Lowell and all

I have been corrected from an earlier post about Ray Wylie Hubbard drinking whiskey. I incorrectly stated that "3 Fingers Ray"'s drink was whiskey. It was Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon. For me, anything darker than vodka is whiskey. I never drank dark colored liquor. This was relayed to me from a friend that was at the bars that Ray went to back then. I'm surprised he is still alive. But that could be said about me as well.

All stay well and safe.

And thanks Sandra for posting the Ray Wylie story about his inspiration to write "Up Against Red Neck Mother".

Steve Keene

David,

The last debate has focused the nation's attention on fracking (fracture stimulation) to enhance oil and gas production.  Everybody has the idea that it is a brand new technique associated with the latest technology.  As I have said before I have been fracking wells myself since 1979 and with much production enhancement success.

The fracture stimulation of wells was an idea that was hatched by the Department of Interior in 1957 during their Operation Plowshares which was a government initiative to find uses for Nuclear Energy to use in peaceful applications.  The Operation seized on the idea of using underground nuclear explosions to enhance natural gas production to address the nation's growing energy needs.  After much study and debate the Bureau of the Interior and the engineers at the Manhattan project in Los Alamos, NM. decided to partner with El Paso Natural Gas to test the feasibility.  The first project in 1967 known as Operation Gasbuggy was drilled to a depth of 4300' approximately 55 miles east of Farmingon, NM and a nuclear bomb was detonated that had twice the kilotons of Hiroshima.  The resulting explosion created a collapsed chimney and a fracture void was created that produced a large volume of natural gas.  Test wells were drilled down the chimney and at locations away from the explosion to determine the affected producing strata.  A second Project called Operation Rulison was set off at 9000', 8 miles SW of Parachute, CO in Garfield County equal to 3 times the kilotons of Hiroshima in the Fort Union Formation.  The final test known as Operation Rio Blanco was set off in 1973 from 5800' to 6600' in the Mesaverde Formation in 3 separate simultaneous explosions of 10 times the kilotonnage of Hiroshima at  55 miles NW of Rifle, CO.  Test wells were drilled in the collapsed chimney and at intervals to determine the extent of the fractures.

The projects were abandoned due to three problems encountered with them.  The first problem was that the aerial extent of the fracturing was not as great as what was anticipated.  The second problem was that the nuclear explosion cooked the natural gas and reduced it's BTU content.  The third and most troubling problem was the subsequent gas produced, though high volume, was radioactive.

Wayne Gary

Steve,

When did Haliburton first start "fracking".  I seem to remember they were doing it in 1976 when I was selling pumps in Odessa.

David Cordell

Radioactive gas?? No thanks. I knew a guy in college who had that.

Steve Keene

Wayne,

Halliburton started out in the 1920's or 1930's as an oil well cementing company.  They pumped cement downhole after a well was drilled and pipe was run through it followed by water which would come up the outside of the pipe to seal off the pipe and prevent liquids from communicating with each other when the cement set up.  Originally it was done to keep the pipe in the hole when charges were set downhole to increase fractures or create a void so that more oil could enter the wellbore at a faster rate.  The preferred method of stimulating the hole was to lower nitroglycerin in a sealed cointainer downhole and have it set off with a timed charge mechanically and eventually with an electrical blasting cap.  This had an unwelcome side affect of sometimes blowing the pipe you had lowered into the hole to keep it from caving in, out of the hole.  Halliburton expanded into any other well service that they could charge for including perforating, acidizing, and pumping gelled water and sand for production enhancement.  They were using giant pump trucks and sand carriers and blenders by the mid 1950's.  The earliest I saw Halliburton fracking wells personally in my career was 1976 in the SACROC field in Snyder, Texas though as a boy I had witnessed Halliburton fracking wells in the Brown Dolomite of the Panhandle Field north of Amarillo, near Masterson. in the late 1950's and 1960's for Pioneer Natural Gas for whom my Dad was a field engineer.

One of my memories is working in the La Barge field operated by Chevron in Sublette Co, WY in 1978.  To keep from damaging the formations, the Bear River and the Frontier zones, we often fracked the wells using gelled diesel as a fluid.  I think I might have already related the story of when we were fracking multiple stage and I would ride back to Rock Springs, Wy and party till four a.m. and then come back to the Halliburton yard there before the trucks left at 5 a..m. to be on my location at 7:30 a.m. for the next stage.  Rocks Springs was a wild town before a 60 minutes expose' detailed the gambling and prostitution going on there.  While I was working at La Barge about 10 miles east of me on an Amoco location' four or five Halliburton employees out of Rock Springs backed up to a storage tank to load diesel to gel for a frac job.  A valve had been left partially open and when they began to make the connection a spark ignited the diesel fumes and the flash fired killed them all.

Ron Knight

Steve

I, like Wayne, am interested in "fracking" post nuclear times. I would love to hear your comments on the late 1970's "Deep Well" activities, i.e. the Anadarko basin, as well. My last gas project was in the Barnett Shale west of Weatherford and south of I-20 with a group out of Abilene. I also was involved with another with Knight Exploration (no relation) in the Barnett Shale, too. The Abilene group was high on fracking. That did not work out so well for me. Knight Exploration's did well for me. You may know them. They seemed to me to be a well run company after I had a one-on-one with the principals. I wish I had spent more time with the Abilene group.

My dad was an architect and civil engineer. He designed oil refineries for Brown and Root out of Houston. He also oversaw the completion of them worldwide; Saudi Arabia (Gulf Oil), Valencia Spain (Gulf Oil), Caracus, Venezuela (Gulf Oil) , Caldwell, Idaho and Sumas, Washington. Plus several others that he just was assigned to their completion duties.

Lowell Tuttle

Read this in the Houston Chronicle this morning...

Why Biden couldn’t ban fracking, but he could restrict it

By Ari Natter BLOOMBERG

Inline Image Not Displayed

Hilary Swift / New York Times

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden says he has no plans to ban fracking.

WASHINGTON — Fracking has emerged as a hot-button issue of the 2020 election, with President Donald Trump claiming his political rival will cripple the economy in politically important states such as Pennsylvania by putting an end to the well extraction technique, despite Joe Biden’s assertions to the contrary.

There’s good reason it’s getting so much attention: Hydraulic fracturing is used to coax oil and gas out of roughly 95 percent of U.S. wells, according to government data.

While Biden has called for prohibiting new oil and gas projects on federal land, the candidate has made it clear he does not support a widespread ban on fracking — which involves pumping water, sand and chemicals underground to free oil and gas from dense rock formations.

Even if Biden wanted to, he couldn’t unilaterally ban fracking on private lands. Under a 2005 law, the Environmental Protection Agency has almost no regulatory power over fracking. Changing that would require an act of Congress.

Q: Where could Biden stop fracking?

A: There are several ways Biden could halt fracking on federal lands using executive power. He could ban new oil and gas leases, halt new permits, or seek a specific regulatory ban on fracking, all of which Biden has telegraphed at one point or another on the campaign trail.

“It would be foolish to assume Biden would not carry out his promise,” said Kevin Book, managing director of research firm ClearView Energy Partners. “He has all the power in the world.”

That doesn’t mean it will be easy. A regulation banning fracking on federal land would have to go through a process that would likely be challenged in court as a violation of federal law that encourages oil and gas development. Even an Obama-era Interior Department rule that merely set standards for fracking on federal lands - while still allowing the activity - was tossed out.

Instead, it’s more likely Biden would go through the “side door” that could include a combination of rewriting drilling and land management plans and the use of emergency authority to achieve a cessation on leasing and permitting, Book said.

“With the stroke of a pen without any delay Bureau of Land Management staff could be allocated away from leasing and permitting activities,” said Book. “It takes people to write permits, it takes people to write production and drilling plans.”

Q: What about a freeze on new leases?

A: A Biden administration could take a page from Obama’s playbook and freeze new leasing to allow time for a thorough evaluation of the environmental impacts of oil and gas development on federal land. The Obama administration used the same tactic to halt the sale of new coal mining rights.

The Interior Department also could impose costly new requirements on oil companies operating on federal land - including stringent mandates to capture methane from wells, compressor stations and other infrastructure. Legal challenges to new mandates or delayed permits could take years to resolve, with activity sure to be slowed in the meantime.

Still, a broad ban on new drilling permits or even lease sales would be difficult for Biden to impose immediately. Both federal law and the Bureau of Land Management’s resource management plans governing territory under the agency’s control mandate regular lease sales. And oil companies could challenge regulators’ inaction or permit denials for the leases they hold under contract law. The Interior Department has resorted to buying back some leases to settle previous disputes.

“Once areas are available for leasing, it becomes very difficult for the BLM not to lease,” said Elizabeth Klein, a former associate deputy secretary at the Interior Department under former President Barack Obama. “And once you sign a lease, you are committing to that leaseholder that they will be able to develop and that they’ll be able to do something with the lease.”

Q:What would the actual impact of that be?

A: The impact of Biden’s plan would be limited since most fracking occurs on private land, not public. Onshore oil production on federally owned land was approximately 6.5 percent of the U.S. total in 2019, and onshore federal gas production made up 10 percent of the U.S. total, according to ClearView Energy Partners.

The impact would hit at least one blue state hard. In New Mexico, roughly 90 percent of all production in the state’s portion of the oil rich Permian shale basin was on state and federal lands last year, according to the New Mexico Oil & Gas Association. In 2017 more than half of New Mexico’s oil production and nearly 67 percent of its natural gas production occurred on federal lands, according to the same group.

In the swing state of Pennsylvania the amount of gas produced from federal land accounts for less than a one hundredth of 1 percent, according to ClearView.

A ban on offshore drilling in federal waters, which Biden has also proposed, would be much more impactful nationwide. It accounts for roughly 16 percent of total production.

Q: What has Biden actually said about fracking?

A: Biden has called for banning fracking on federal lands, but has said he does not support a nationwide ban on the technique and has argued the practice needs to continue while the U.S. moves toward cleaner sources of energy. He has also noted the importance of natural gas production in the politically important states of Pennsylvania and Ohio.

“Fracking has to continue because we need a transition,” Biden said during a CNN town hall last month. “But there’s no rationale to eliminate, right now, fracking.”

In addition to calling for achieving carbon-free power emissions by 2035 and overall net-zero emissions in the U.S. by 2050, Biden’s climate plans have taken aim at the oil and gas industry, banning new projects on public lands and waters and promising aggressive limits on the sector’s emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. He’s also called for making sure wells are safely designed and plugging methane leaks.

Confusion surrounding Biden’s stance on fracking is partly due to his own making. During a primary debate in March, Biden said he would eliminate fracking. His campaign the next day said the candidate misspoke and clarified his stance. Senior campaign officials have since said Biden is committed to no new fracking on federal lands.

Q: What’s the political benefit?

A: A more narrow ban on fracking solely focused on federal land, could provide Biden political cover among progressive environmental groups and others stringently opposed to fossil fuels. At the same time the limited nature of the ban means it is unlikely to hurt him among voters in swing states where fracking takes place on private lands such as Pennsylvania and Ohio.

Q: What do environmental groups think?

A: Environmental groups are largely supportive of Biden’s pledge, but many argue it doesn’t go far enough to address the urgent crisis of climate change.

“It’s a great first step, but it’s just that,” said Collin Rees, a senior campaigner with Oil Change U.S., an environmental group that advocates shifting away from fossil fuels. “We know we need to do a lot more.”

Other groups, such as Food & Water Watch, have said they need more details about the plan, including how it would treat the process of using fracking to re-stimulate production from old wells.

Q: What does industry have to say about the idea?

A: Naturally, the oil and gas industry isn’t very keen on the idea. They argue such a policy would threaten jobs and the economy, have a disproportionate effect on states such as New Mexico and ignores the environmental benefits of the natural gas produced through fracking.

“Energy policy put forth by our nation’s leaders should support U.S. shale — not threaten it to score political points with activists who are seeking radical, unrealistic change over practical solutions and compromise,” said Anne Bradbury, chief executive officer of the American Exploration and Production Council, a trade group representing independent oil and natural gas producers.

Others, such as Mike McKenna, who previously served in Trump’s White House as deputy assistant to the president, say if a Biden administration were to ban fracking on federal land they will eventually ban all production on federal land.

“Mr. Biden himself has been courteous enough to say that he would like to get rid of all fossil fuels,” said McKenna. “Getting rid of hydraulic fracturing on federal lands is merely a gateway drug.”

Ron Knight

David

As I think back on our collective family's migration to Richardson, I find a common thread. If I recall, the Richardson School District was rated in the top 2 or 3 in Texas as we grew up. It seems to me that our parents settled in Richardson as like minded people looking for continued success for their children. Perhaps with a little "Ward and June Cleaver'ish" niativity. Regardless, if our collective parents look back on their decision to raise their family in Richardson I think they would be proud.

It just occured to me that with all of our classmates that have enjoyed so much success this did not occur by accident. After all, Richardson was a planned community!
 

Wayne Gary

Lowell,

When listning to Biden and others say we will be free from fossil fuels by 2035? act as though the only thing we get from the oil and gas is fuel.  They ignore how laess the 50% of crude and natural gas is used a fuel the rest in the many plastic, chemical, fabrics, drugs and other everyday items.

Kurt Fischer

As  I read the history, fracking dates back to 1947 with commercial use in 1950.

The difference in the use of fracking between the 1970s and 1980s vs today is horizontal drilling.  

Fracking was in common use for single wellbores for decades.  It was a way to "open up" the ground to let the crude flow more freely.  But with a single drilling hole, it had a limited impact.  (By the way, the first and only time I was at a well site when it was being fracked was around 1973.  My father had a small interest in a well which was being fracked.  When they fired up all of the diesel engines on the trucks surrounding the well site to achieve the pressure needed to open up small fissures in the earth and force the sand mixture into them, it was an awesome experience.  The ground shook like a earthquake.  I never would have believed man could have made machines which had such an impact.)

The difference in fracking today is horizontal drilling which allows the driller to go down to a specific point underground and then "turn" the drill bit so it proceeds at a 90 degree angle (or whatever angle chosen).  In this manner a single borehole can penetrate a reservoir not only at a single point (old days), but continuously for some distance.  What then happens is the driller can chose where to perforate the drilling pipe and then frack the ground at that spot.  Later, the same hole can be used in another pipe location and fracked there.   In this way a single wellbore can be exploited mulitple times and fracked multiple times.  

Drilling companies can also complete multiple wellbores at the same drilling site.  You can picture a single shaft running down and then branching off in different directions.  Each of these can be perfed and fracked multiple times.

This process has led to a much greater use of fracking than only single wellbore wells.  This has led to much greater productivity of the wells being drilled and an ability to capture much more of the available reservoir underground.  But it has also raised concern with the amount of material being injected underground and whether it impacts the water table.  It also uses a tremendous amount of water and material, much of which must be reclaimed and disposed.  The disposal process is thought to have the most significant environmental impact.

Now that I've said all of the above, I await Steve to correct my story.  I know I have the jist of the story, but my terminology misses the boat in many places.

Wayne Gary

Here is a Laurel& Hardy short film from 1942 explaing some of the many uses for trees.  This was done by US Forest Service

Steve Keene

Kurt,

Your overview of horizontal and hydraulic fracturing is essentially correct.  The one thing I would like to clarify is the fact that the predominate method of producing multiple horizontal wells is to skid the rig on location and drill a second hole, third hole, etc.  Seldom are laterals drilled out of a single vertical well bore.  Out of 25 Barnett shale wells I have personally overseen, I only deviated a hole in the same well bore one time and that was to reenter an old producing well that I plugged and set a whipstock, cut a window in the casing and directed the hole away from the original depleted well.  It is possible to drill multiple wells from a single well bore but it gets complicated and there are more chances of things going wrong than right.  Wells that do this are sometimes called forked wells.  You have to drill the first hole and set a liner, fracture the well, then  set an inflatable packer with sand and cement on top of it.  Then you drill into the cement to the deviation point using collar locators as a guide.  Then you set a retrievable whipstock.  Next you run a mill with a downhole motor to cut a window in the casing.  Trip the mill and replace it with your bit and mud motor, drill the next lateral and fracture stimulate it, run a liner and make sure the top of it is away from the original hole.  Then you retrieve your whipstock, drill out the cement and sand and retrieve your inflatable packer.  This leaves you with two legs producing into the same wellbore.  Repeat for additional legs.  Sound complicated?  That is why nobody does it.

Ron,

I have drilled wells in the Barnett from Northern Parker Co. and Eastern Palo Pinto County south through Tarrant and Johnson Counties as well as a well in Montague County.  People get the idea that one operator is bad and another good based upon how well their well does.  The major factor is that the geology of the Barnett Shale varies due to lithology changes, thickness, faulting in some areas, fracture seal zones above the Barmett which are present or absent depending on the area, and the presence of karsts or collapsed sink holes in portions of the pay zone.  The best wells in the Barnett are located on a line west of the intersection of Hwy 67 in Venus going North to I 20 and westward to approximately the town of Cleburne and heading North all the way into Wise County and Montague County.  East of that line to the Ouachita Uplift which is that big cliff on the West side of Dallas before you get to Arlington and Grand Prairie the wells are poor quality because there is not a seal on top of the Barnett to limit fracs from extending into predominately water zones and fractures in that area are often filled with Calcite.  EOG Resources in the area of Mansfield began doing small fracture stimulation on as many as 10 ro 15 stages to limit the fracture lengths and were pretty successful.  The highest volume wells were around Keene, TX, Joshua, TX, Lillian, Tx, Rendon,TX and Burleson, TX in Johnson County.  The Best Tarrant County wells were in the Area of Lake Arlington and Kennedale.  Further north tremendous wells were made in Wise and Montague counties in the core areas there.  The Barnett Shale thickness is also a factor.  In the east side of the field the thickness is 350 to 450 feet while in the far west where you said your wells were, the thickness thins to around 100'.  An exception is the far northeast part of the play in Wise and Montague Counties where there are two zones a Barnett A which caries mostly gas and a Barnett B which is liquid rich and has oil.  They are separated by the Forestburg interval.  The thickness can be 900', combined.  This occurred due to an overthrust on the Barnett which means you get to drill it twice.  South of Cleburne to just south of Alvarado the Barnett is  interspersed with numerous karsts and faults that extend to Hill County.  I drilled a well in Grandview next to I 35W and made a successful well, while Williams and Boone Pickens drilled wells offset to us that encountered faults and karsts.  These must be identified with seismic by the good operators before they drill.

Lowell Tuttle

Steve, brother Lawrence Tuttle is head of IT for EOG....

Bob Davidson

The way I understand it is that modern civilization is only possible because of fossil fuels.  Am I wrong?

Kurt Fischer

Steve:

Masterful response.  

I think I mentioned I worked for Mobil Oil and Exxon for 15 years in IT.  Some of it rubbed off on me, I guess.

One issue that always attracted me was the price of gasoline.  I usually compared it to the price of bottled water.  They're in the same ballpark.

Bottled water:

• Find a source
• Capture and bottle the water.
• Distribute the bottled water

Gasoline

• Discover the oil, not so easy when it can be a mile or greater below the surface.  This is a real scientific challenge and incredibly expensive.
• Produce the oil.  As Steve's notes on fracturing reflect, the ability to drill into "reservoir zones" is an incredible accomplishment.  Since oil is locked inside permeable rock, one must also be able to coax it out of the rock and have it flow to a location to be pumped to the surface.  In one of Mobil's fields in California, the process began with capturing natural gas in wells in Wyominng, shipping the gas to central California fields, using the gas to heat up fluids which were then injected under tremendous pressure into the earth and which heated the rock below the surface to allow the oil to flow, capturing the resulting flows and pumping them to the surface, and then sending the results via pipeline to refineries in Southern California.  
• Refine the oil.  I'm not sure whether you've ever been to a refinery, but it is typically one of the largest, most complex manufacturing facilities you will ever see.  
• Distribute the resulting gasoline.  Typically this requires the refined gasoline to be shipped to regional storage terminals, then to local blending terminals and finally trucked to local gas stations.  The trick is to have right amount of gasoline in right location at the right time.  This is a massive logistical challenge.
• Sell the gasoline.  This is the side of the business most of us see.  Retailing gasoline is an extremely competitive business   In general, a gasoline retailer makes a profit of about two cents a gallon.

​Knowing the effort to deliver gasoline to the consumer, I'm always convinced those who rail against the oil and gas companies just don't understand everything it takes to put gas in their cars.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

I thought it was amusing that the FACT CHECKERS stated Obama told 19 lies to the North Miami crowd of cars that showed up to honk for him as he shouted his nonsense to the folks on Saturday, in his effort to secure a Biden win.  Ol' Obama is still at it, evidently.

Also thought it was astounding that Leslie Stahl STILL is saying that the Democrats spying on the Trump campaign was "unconfirmed," even though the truth has been reported over and over, for two years.  Someone should tell her that blinders are for horses, although she DOES have legs that resemble a thoroughbred's, so maybe her eyes also have equine characteristics......(just teasing, Les!)

Even Chris Wallace was saying on his Sunday program that Biden has not been proven to have received any money from China, yet it has been noticed that he has acquired several new huge home properties recently, from income that has not been reported on his tax returns, so where did he get the money for those homes, the IRS is wondering? 

I'm sure the final summation will come out after November 3rd, just as more of the facts will be explained SLOWLY, from Hunter Biden's laptop issues.  This whole fiasco reminds me of how SLOWLY the Benghazl facts came out before the 2012 election.  That darn election date seems to stymie our Mainstream Media as it delivers its censored offerings each day. 

I also just heard on KLBJ radio that the words "Revolution Now," were spray-painted on the side of the downtown city library overnight, but employees quickly covered over the words early this morning with butcher paper and heavy-duty tape.  The radio host was wondering if a 'sickle and hammer' symbol was also covered over. Quite likely, I'm guessing......

Steve Keene

Lowell,

Of all the operators in the Barnett, I would say EOG has the best engineering staff and technical staff.  I guess it goes without saying that your brother is the smart one in the family.  It would stand to reason that he does not share your political bent. 

EOG is the unit of Enron that was spun off prior to Enron going down due to their crooked antics.  Enron left the stockholders, the bondholders and most of their employees in the lurch. They spun off EOG with their best properties for the benefit of the insiders.

Steve Keene

Lance,

If Biden wins, the country will shut down in a manner that will make the Covid 19 problem look like a walk in the park.  I know of two companies that will shut down plans for new drilling programs.  I know two other friends who are planning to start new businesses who say they will put those plans on hold and travel for a year.  I will not buy anything new or spend any dough due to the new tax ramifications.  I will likely not take any more trips except to the ammo store to prepare a surprise for goofy Beto O'Rourke when he stops by to pick up my guns.  I will fish my own pond and maybe the nearby Lakes Navarro or Whitney to put fish on the table.  I will raise my own cows and put up privacy fencing and booby traps.  I'll need to buy a bigger skunk barrel that will fit a man.

New posted signs:

No  Trespassing!

Communists and Socialists will be buried below plow depth.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Lance,

I don't RANT any more than you do, but I speak in a similar way that you also speak.   You try to offer facts to influence people, if they are willing, and so do I.

I realize that what I offer will probably not change any minds, just as what you offer with your religious teachings will probably not change any minds, but THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE, RIGHT?

And "Yes," I know that there is a very real chance that Biden may win, but, there again, is the reason I point out what I point out.  I do it mainly for those people who browse, thinking that they might not have heard or read what I have heard and/or read.  What I write is NOT to rant, but to offer FACTS I feel are pertinent.  I'm not trying to lecture, but merely to say, "Hey!  Did you read or hear this?  I think it is worthy of thinking about....."

I assume you hope that others will think about what you write too.

I think what you write is VERY worthy.  Too bad you don't reciprocate towards me the same way. (You've told me often of how I irritate you.)

Biblical teachings are ALWAYS worthy of a reader's notice, in my book.

As for what we will do to bring our divided country together after all of this negativity, requires a lot of thought and patience for all of us to muster up, as we see the ugly storm clouds gathering.  Can we accomplish it?

YES!

Will all participate with patience and understanding?

I'm not sure at this point, but I have hope; a Biblical teaching.

Do all of us have Biblical teachings to look back upon and review?

I hate to have to answer that one.  It saddens me.

Certainly we can all try to be better and kinder; put aside bitterness to live as civil Americans.

Janalu Jeanes (Parchman)

Steve,

I enjoyed the "Wilbury Twist."  Its got a catchy beat!  The musicians and dancers are definitely familiar and kinda cute too.

You should place it here as well, if you know what I mean....

Steve Keene

Janalu,

Some of these band members look kinda familiar.

Steve Keene

Ron,

I failed to answer your second question about deep Anadarko Basin wells.  The Anadarko basin straddles the Oklahoma, Texas Panhandle borders dissected by Route 66.  Most wells prior to 1965 were drilled shallower than 13,000'  which is about two and half miles deep.  Amarillo Oil Company drilled a couple of exploration wells as deep as 18,000 to 19,000' in the area of Elk City, Oklahoma as an exception.  My Dad, Roy Keene supervised some of these wells.  In 1967 Robert Hefner, IIi formed GHK Company in OKC with partners Glover and Kennedy to drill for deep gas near Elk City, OK..  Their first well, the Baden #1 was drilled to a depth of 24,031' before encountering mechanical problems and cost overruns and was abandoned.  Needing more capital, they partnered with Lone Star Producing Company out of Dallas, a predecessor of Lone Star Gas Company to attempt a new well.  The company is now called Ensearch.  They picked a location in Washita County, OK and drilled the Bertha Rogers #1-27.  The well took two years to drill and encountered several fishing jobs when drilling stems were lost in the hole.  The wells set numerous records including the heaviest casing cemented which was 1.3 million pounds of 14" casing set at 14,198'.    After two years the well reached a total depth of 31,441'.  During drilling the well encountered numerous pockets of H2S gas that made working on the well a dangerous proposition.  The well drilled into molten sulphur at total depth and was abandoned.  Bottom hole pressure was nearly 25,000 psig and botton hole temperature was 475 degrees F.   Cuttings in the mud took 8 hours to reach the surface from this depth of 6 miles.  The well was eventually completed in a shallower zone at 13,000' feet and later plugged and abandoned.. 

This well was the deepest well ever drilled until a deeper well was drilled in the Soviet Union several years later.  It was the deepest well drilled in the U.S. until 2004.  The current record well depth is a well in Qatar drilled to a depth of 40,231'.  The Russians claim they have drilled a well on Sakhalin Island that is 40,502' but who can trust the damn Russians?

On Route 66 in Elk City, Parker Rig # 114 was stacked for many years and I assume it is still there.  It is 180' tall and drilled the Anadarko wells as well as the government nuclear tests.

David Cordell

Petty, Harrison, Candy -- all dead. Not to mention Orbison, who must have been dead before this recording.

I am enjoying the discussions. Let's make sure to keep the discussion on a friendly level without any disparaging comments toward fellow classmates.

Wayne Gary

Steve,

Your profile shows you live in Red Oak.  Do you live in Red Oak or Carl's Corner?

How is your leg comming along?