#oilwells

[mercurykelly]

Day 8 - Oil wells and wildflowers

When I check out of my room, the desk clerk asks me about the bathtub bugs and commiserates with me.  She tells me they’ve called an exterminator.  Good idea.

The mileage is at 2236.9, the temp 49.  It is so cold I am wearing a long-sleeved black shirt, a wool hoodie and a fleece vest. Sheesh.

I drive south on Hwy 84 and before you know it I’m in oil country, with oil wells clustered on both sides of the car.  The smell of oil thickens the air and makes it difficult to breathe.  I’d hate to live here and smell this all day every day. I suppose you would get used to it, but it certainly doesn’t appeal.

But I don’t see oil wells often, especially so many at one time, and they are certainly more interesting than the flat farmland I drove through yesterday. (Continued below)

It’s oil wells for several miles, then windmills, then at Sweetwater (great name) I hit lush lake country and carpets of wildflowers.  My GPS sends me on a lot of back roads and two-lane highways, and I don’t mind one bit because my route is strewn with flowers – with both ditches filled to bursting and blooms stretching into the fields as far as I can see. White, yellow, purple, red, blue flowers.  I recognize some because I’ve grown them in my garden: coreopsis, bee balm   and Indian blanket (or Gaillardia) to name a few.  There are also bluebonnets, Indian paintbrush, lantana, butterfly weed, fleabane and many others I am unable to identify. I stop often to take photos but it is impossible to capture the lush feeling of the landscape— my  photos look washed out and bland in comparison to what I am seeing with my eyes. (Continued below)

Due to the frequent stops and detours, not to mention the slower speed necessary when following back roads, it is late when I get to Austin.  In larger cities, Hotel Tonight is a godsend – like tonight, entering an unfamiliar city, clogged with rush hour traffic, the kind of place you would rather not make a wrong turn if you can avoid it, with no idea where motels and hotels might be located.  With Hotel Tonight it is simple – a search reveals a list of possibilities, one of which is the Hotel Granduca with a deluxe rating yet affordable.  Wooee. I could use deluxe about now, so I book a room and follow my GPS instructions to a grand place situated on a hill with a sweeping territorial view.

Hotel Granduca is decorated to look like a swish Italian villa with reproductions of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Ginevra Benci on the umber colored walls, along with thick carpets, grand staircases, potted cypress, courtyards with tiered fountains, and a few modern touches, like a pool table and a saltwater pool.

My room is luxurious, with many added touches, upscale furniture, tiled bathroom – quite a contrast from the disgusting room last night.  I get help with my myriad bags and chill for a while. (Continued below)

I’m tired from driving so am tempted to be lazy and eat at the restaurant on site, but I have a rave recommendation from a friend (the one I’m meeting in New Orleans) for a place called Odd Duck.  The name alone makes me want to make the effort to try it, so I activate my GPS and head out.

I am directed to an interesting section of town called the South Lamar district with many restaurants and an interesting vibe – the kind of area that would be fun to explore.  It’s crazy busy though and parking is hard to come by.  Luckily Odd Duck has valet parking, so I make use of it and go in to see if I can get a meal in spite of the fact that I don’t have a reservation.  They tell me I can have a seat at the bar if I finish by 7:30.  Deal.  

I love foodie restaurants with inventive food combinations and cooking techniques.  After due consideration of an interesting menu, I order a carrot dish made with curried peanuts (got to get my vegetables), and pork with greens and a glass of yummy red wine.  My seat at the bar lends itself to people watching, both patrons and the chefs at work in the kitchen.  For dessert I order beet sherbet on crème fraiche with granola sprinkles and edible flowers.  

My visit to Odd Duck is a rousing success, with great food, ambience ditto, and a server who is efficient and cute, with a rhinestone hoop in her nose and a left arm that is extravagantly tattooed.  Oh to be young again.  

Then it’s back to the Hotel Granduca to revel in luxury for a few hours with not a bug in sight.  

[marketingmiami-blog]

Oil Investing Tax Shelter – Invest in oil and deduct 100% of intangible drilling costs off your taxable income for 2017.

Now is the perfect time to reevaluate your investment portfolio to help reduce your overall tax burden. A direct investment in an oil and gas drilling partnership can provide significant tax write-offs while also providing the added benefit of consistent cash flow and return on investment potential.

Instead of paying more to Uncle Sam, put more of your money to work instead.

100% Tax Write Off of Intangible Drilling Costs (IDC) with a Direct Investment in Oil & Gas Intangible Drilling Costs (IDCs) are drilling expenses related to labor, fuel, chemicals, hauling, etc. IDCs usually represent 70% to 85% of the cost of a well and can be deducted 100% against taxable income in the first year. For example, if you invested $50,000 today in a project that had 85% of its costs in IDCs, you could elect to deduct $42,500 from your taxable income for 2017. If you are in the top 39.6% federal tax bracket this deduction could save you approximately $14,875 in federal income taxes – please speak with your tax advisor for information specific to your situation.

IDC deductions are available in the year the money was invested, even if the well does not start drilling until March 31 of the year following the contribution of capital. Aresco has immediate drilling opportunities for immediate 2017 tax deductions.

Other Direct Oil Investment Tax Deductions & Tax Benefits

Tangible Drilling Costs – Capitalized and depreciated over a 7-year period Oil and gas drilling equipment such as casing, pump jacks, and wellheads are considered Tangible Drilling Costs (TDCs). Continuing with the example above, the remaining $7,500 (15% of the cost of the well) would be classified as TDCs.

Intangible Completion Costs – Deductible in the year they are incurred Intangible Completion Costs are generally related to non-salvageable goods and services, such as labor, completion materials, completion rig time, fluids etc. ICCs usually amount to about 15% of the total well cost and provide a great tax benefit.

Depreciation – Depreciated over a 7-year period While services and materials used during the drilling process offer no salvage value, equipment used in the completion and production of a well is generally salvageable. Items such as these are usually depreciated over a seven-year period, utilizing the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery system or MACRS. Equipment in this category includes casing, tanks, wellhead and tree, pumping units, etc. Equipment and tangible completion expenses generally account for 25% to 40% of the total well cost.

Depletion Allowance – Shelter 15% of the well’s annual production from income tax Once an oil or gas well is in production, the working interest owners in the well are allowed to shelter some of the gross income derived from the sale of the oil and/or gas through a depletion deduction. Two types of depletion are available, cost and statutory (also referred to as percentage depletion). Cost depletion is calculated on the relationship between current production as a percentage of total recoverable reserves. Statutory or percentage depletion is subject to several qualifications and limitations. This deduction will generally shelter 15% of the well’s annual production from income tax.

Lease Operating Expense– Tax Deductible in the year they are incurred without AMT consequences Lease Operating Expenses cover the day-to-day costs involved with the operation of a well. The expense also covers the costs of re-entry or re-work of an existing producing well.

Lastly, the tax benefits from oil and natural gas production have historically triggered potential taxation under the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT). However, Congress provided some tax relief in the early 1990’s for “independent producers”. An independent producer was defined as an individual or company with production of 1,000 barrels per day or less. Although there is still the potential for AMT taxation for excess IDCs, percentage or statutory depletion is no longer considered a preference item.

The above general discussion is provided for background information only. This information is not intended to be individual advice. Prospective participants should consult with their personal tax professional regarding the applicability and effect of any and all benefits for their own personal tax situation. In addition, tax laws change from time to time and there is no guarantee regarding the interpretation of any tax laws. For more information, please visit www.irs.gov.

Accredited Investors Email Direct [email protected]

Press-kit for July 2017 Available Now for subscribers  

[petroleumengineer]

Boosting Oil Production with Artificial Lift Systems

Nomination: https://petroleumengineering.org/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee

[petroleumengineer]

Boosting Oil Production with Artificial Lift Systems

🔍 Nomination: https://petroleumengineering.org/award-nomination/?ecategory=Awards&rcategory=Awardee

[urbanstarzmedia]

Urban oil wells linked to asthma and other health problems in Los Angeles 6/2/21

Tag# oil wells When California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a goal to phase out oil drilling statewide by 2045, he focused on its impact on climate change. But oil drilling is also a health problem, particularly in Los Angeles, where thousands of oil wells still dot the city. These wells can emit toxic chemicals such as benzene and other irritants into the air, often just feet from homes, schools and parks. As environmental health researchers, we study the impacts of oil drilling on surrounding communities. Our research shows that people living near these urban oil operations suffer higher rates of asthma than average, as well as wheezing, eye irritation and sore throats. In some cases, the impact on residents’ lungs is worse than living beside a highway or being exposed to secondhand smoke every day.

LA was once an oil town with forests of derricks

Over a century ago, before Hollywood, the first industry to boom in Los Angeles was oil. Oil was abundant and flowed close to the surface. In early 20th-century California, sparse laws governed mineral extraction, and rights to oil accrued to those who could pull it out of the ground first. This ushered in a period of rampant drilling, with wells and associated machinery crisscrossing the landscape. By the mid-1920s, Los Angeles was one of the largest oil-exporting regions in the world.

A 1924 photo shows the oil derricks on Signal Hill. Water and Power Museum Archive

The view across The Pike amusement park and downtown Long Beach, California, in 1940 shows a forest of oil derricks in the background. Water and Power Museum Archive Oil rigs were so pervasive across the region that the Los Angeles Times described them in 1930 as “trees in a forest.” Working-class communities were initially supportive of the industry because it promised jobs but later pushed back as their neighborhoods witnessed explosions and oil spills, along with longer-term damage to land, water and human health. Tensions over land use, extraction rights and subsequent drops in oil prices due to overproduction eventually resulted in curbs on drilling and a long-standing practice of oil companies’ voluntary “self-regulation,” such as noise-reduction technologies. The industry began touting these voluntary approaches to deflect governmental regulation. Increasingly, oil companies disguised their activities with approaches such as operating inside buildings, building tall walls and designing islands off Long Beach and other sites to blend in with the landscape. Oil drilling was hidden in plain sight.

boulder weekly Today there are over 20,000 active, idle or abandoned wells spread across a county of 10 million people. About one-third of residents live less than a mile from an active well site, some right next door. Since the 2000s, the advance of extractive technologies to access harder-to-reach deposits has led to a resurgence of oil extraction activities. As extraction in some neighborhoods has ramped up, people living in South Los Angeles and other neighborhoods in oil fields have noticed frequent odors, nosebleeds and headaches.

Closer to urban oil drilling, poorer lung function

The City of Los Angeles currently requires no buffers or setbacks between oil extraction and homes. Approximately 75% of active oil or gas wells are located within 500 meters (1,640 feet) of “sensitive land uses,” such as homes, schools, child care facilities, parks or senior residential facilities. Despite that proximity and over a century of oil drilling in Los Angeles, there have been few studies on how it affects residents’ health. We have been working with community health workers to gauge the impact oil wells are having on residents, particularly on its historically Black and Hispanic neighborhoods. Oil drilling in Los Angeles. The first step was a door-to-door survey of 813 neighbors from 203 households near wells in Las Cienegas oilfield, just south and west of downtown. We found that asthma was significantly more common among people living near South Los Angeles oil wells than among residents of Los Angeles County as a whole. Nearly half the people we spoke with, 45%, didn’t know oil wells were operating nearby, and 63% didn’t know how to contact local regulatory authorities to report odors or environmental hazards. Next, we measured lung function of 747 long-term residents, ages 10 to 85, living near two drilling sites. Poor lung capacity, measured as the amount of air a person can exhale after taking a deep breath, and lung strength, how strongly the person can exhale, and are both predictors of health problems including respiratory disease, death from cardiovascular problems and early death in general. We found that the closer someone lived to an active or recently idle well site, the poorer that person’s lung function, even after adjusting for such other risk factors as smoking, asthma and living near a freeway. This research demonstrates a significant relationship between living near oil wells and worsened lung health. People living up to 1,000 meters (0.6 miles) downwind of a well site showed lower lung function on average than those living farther away and upwind. The effect on their lungs’ capacity and strength was similar to impacts of living near a freeway or, for women, being exposed to secondhand smoke. Using a community monitoring network in South Los Angeles, we were able to distinguish oil-related pollution in neighborhoods near wells. We found short-term spikes of air pollutants and methane, a potent greenhouse gas, at monitors less than 500 meters, about one-third of a mile, from oil sites. When oil production at a site stopped, we observed significant reductions in such toxins as benzene, toluene and n-hexane in the air in adjacent neighborhoods. These chemicals are known irritants, carcinogens and reproductive toxins. They are also associated with dizziness, headaches, fatigue, tremors and respiratory system irritation, including difficulty breathing and, at higher levels, impaired lung function.

Vulnerable communities at risk

Many of the dozens of active oil wells in South Los Angeles are in historically Black and Hispanic communities that have been marginalized for decades. These neighborhoods are already considered among the most highly polluted, with the most vulnerable residents in the state.

A state app called well finder locates active oil wells, including in Los Angeles County. State of California But while the governor declared that “California needs to move beyond oil,” his current timeline would allow oil wells to continue operating for the next two decades. A variety of policies, including buffers, phaseouts and emissions controls, will need to be considered to protect public health and accelerate the transition to cleaner energy sources. Urban oil wells linked to asthma and other health problems in Los Angeles-AUTHORS:

Jill Johnston, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California and Bhavna Shamasunder, Associate Professor of Environmental Health, Occidental College This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

For More California news VISIT For more Health News Visit Here Check out more food ideas  on Cali.FM For more Entertainment News visit HERE Check out more great contributor stories, HERE The Daily Blackness-Black News HERE Read the full article

[dungareesinjapan]

1/19/2019- 25 years ago this month, the Indy was in and out of Dubai, UAE. Between these two stops, I turned 21. Seeing the oil wells on fire while on Operation Southern Watch on my 21st birthday is still something that I will never forget. This picture was taken from the 35 anniversary cruise book. #ussindependence #dubai #uae #turning21 #oilwells #operationsouthernwatch (at Dubai, United Arab Emirates) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs16buDg8RR/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=39kvf57ypi9r

[mrsbluelobster]

A) A solid pun B) A seriously underrated Dolly Parton song #dollyparton #oilwells #illalwaysloveyou #Illoilwellsloveyou #valentines

[octg-network]

R&D Pipe Company at Permian Enterprises - hand application and cured. @octg.pro Ryt-Wrap® external pipe coating, which provides better protection in a range of production environments. By sourcing our own fabrics and epoxy materials, Permian Enterprises is able to apply new thermoplastic materials by an industry proven coating technique. #ryt http://www.octg.net/index_htm_files/Ryt_Wrap2.pdf data sheet . Tag someone #oilcountry ! #kristenoctg #haioctg #beauoctg #ronoctg #rdpipeoctg #jayoctg #mikeoctg #rossoctg @csh261899 @hai_yahh @jenizellars Contact @octg.pro __________________________________ #permianenterprises #petroleumengineering #rdpipeco #oilwells #pipelinelife #octg #kristenoctg #oilbusiness #downhole #americanbusiness #rytwrap #pipeyard #octg #oilprice #casing #externalcoating #oilpatch #IPC #Permian #oilfieldfamily #externalcoating #pipecoatings #texasoilfield