Technical Tours

Technical Tour 1
Introduction to Oil Well Drilling and Visit to Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig & Museum

Saturday, 25 June 2016; 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Departure from and return to the Westin Galleria
Maximum number of participants: 30
Cost: $120 Includes transportation, lunch, refreshments, and museum admission.

The first part of this tour will feature an explanation of the process of constructing a well starting with a seismic evaluation of potential hydrocarbon production. Drilling a well is a complex endeavor requiring the services of many technology experts. A discussion of the components of the rig, the drill string, the drill bits, and drilling fluid systems will reveal the latest techniques used to create a well bore. This background is needed to appreciate in-depth discussions of protection of all potable (fresh) water; the interaction of the drill bit/formation rock (rocks behavior is different when pressure is applied), creating drilling fluid which has a low viscosity at the drill bit but a high viscosity to bring cuttings to the surface; measurements of formation properties to reveal hydrocarbon content; how high-angle (horizontal) holes are drilled; and more.

Then it’s on to Galveston where participants will board the retired jackup drilling rig Ocean Star. The museum features three floors of models and interactive displays illustrating the story of offshore oil and gas from seismic technology to exploration and production. Actual drill bits, drill pipe and collars, draw-works, cementing units, logging equipment, remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) and scale models of production platforms, as well as videos and exhibits explain drilling, geology, seismic, well servicing and production. Visitors can take the skywalk out onto the drill floor of the rig or visit the exhibits on the pipe deck from the first floor of the museum.

For an extended description and bios of tour guides Leon Robinson and Jeff Brami, CLICK HERE.

Technical Tour 2
Active Faults in Houston
This tour has been cancelled.

Technical Tour 3
Spindletop

Thursday, 30 June 2015; 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Departure from and return to the Westin Galleria
Maximum number of participants: 30
Cost: $120 Includes transportation, lunch and refreshments.

This trip goes to the site of the “Lucas Gusher,” where on 10 January 1901 the discovery at Spindletop on a salt dome formation south of Beaumont gushed 100,000 barrels per day and helped to usher in the modern petroleum age. First stop is the Texas Energy Museum, where the focus will be on the early history of the Texas oil industry and the evolution of oil and gas well drilling. Participants will hear early drillers, Lucas and Patillo talk through demonstrations on reconstructed wooden oil derricks. The bus will then take the group to the reconstructed Gladys City Boomtown in Beaumont. Visitors to Gladys City experience 15 replica buildings filled with objects from the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries that depict life during the first Spindletop oil boom. The group will have lunch at the Gladys City Saloon. Participants will learn about the history and geology of Spindletop and tour the reconstructed town as it would have existed in 1901. There will also be a chance to ask questions of the drilling gurus who have accompanied the group. After lunch and the Gladys City Museum visit, the bus will visit the site of the Lucas Gusher discovery well. Then it is back on the bus for the return trip to Houston.

Tour Leader: Tom Williams

Tom Williams, President and Managing Director of LEID LLC serves as a Senior Advisor to the Environmentally Friendly Drilling Program, an organization he cofounded in 2005 while working as a Vice President at Noble Corporation. He has been in the energy business for over 33 years as an operator and later in his career in the management and commercialization of new energy technologies.

The Lucas gusher at Spindletop, 10 January 1901; this was the first major gusher
of the Texas Oil Boom. Photo credit: American Petroleum Institute