While on a recent drilling project, I was unfortunate enough to pick up a virus that made me sick enough that I ended up in the hospital. Fortunately, between the doctors, lab technicians and radiologists, they were able to find out exactly what it was that made me sick. These experts had the information that they needed, so that they could use the proper medications to kill it off and get me on the road to a full recovery. In the drilling industry, we work in much the same way.
What do Las Vegas and a mud school have in common? What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas; what happens in a mud school can end up on the pages of The Driller. This month I thought I would take some common questions from the many different drilling disciplines we teach, and share them here.
Spring has made its long-awaited debut, so I’m sure business for many of you (at least in the northern climates) will pick up soon. But, just because you’re busy out in the field, it doesn’t mean you can’t take The Driller with you.
It was mid July of 2011 when I received a phone call from Jeff Stoffel, owner of Stoffel Bros. Drilling in Enterprise, Ore. Work for him, like all drilling contractors in the West, had been a little on the lean side, so I was happy for him when he told me he had gotten a job drilling a well for the Minam River Lodge.
There has been a lot of talk lately about “the cloud”-cloud computing, cloud data storage, etc. So what is this cloud all about and how, if at all, does it apply to the groundwater industry? I decided to do a little snooping, so I visited a company I’d heard about in Las Vegas called Aqua Management Inc. (AMI).
I can remember when my dad was working for George E. Failing Company as a salesman and troubleshooter. He usually hung out at Failing Plant No. 2 in South Enid, Okla., where the original Failing drill sat outside for many years. That rig was my playground.
Last month, I wrote about fishing for tools that were loosely lodged in the drill hole or perhaps for a bit wedged into the casing shoe by a stone, pebble or what have you. This month, we are going after a string of tools that is really stuck for whatever reason, and either contains no drilling jars or the drilling jars have become stuck.
Peter Annin, author of The Great Lakes Water Wars, offered the keynote speech at last month’s Michigan Ground Water Association convention. I spoke with him by phone shortly after the event, and got his thoughts on what the "century of water" might mean for drillers.
Attorney Tim Williams has worked with well drillers for decades. I caught up with him and his colleague Adrienne Knack before their presentation at the recent Michigan Ground Water Association convention. Their goal: to help make sure your drilling isn't charity work.
Fred McAninch, the "Rig Doctor," spoke at the recent Michigan Ground Water Association convention. The Driller sat for an interview with him before his presentation to get his tips on getting the most out of a rig.