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"PIG" or "GO DEVIL"
A rotating device that moves along inside the pipelines and cleans them as a maintenance practice
Abandonment
Converting a drilled well to a condition that can be left indefinitely without further attention and will not damage freshwater supplies, potential petroleum reservoirs or the environment.
Accumulation
Essential requirements for this to happen: 1. You need a source rock to provide the oil and gas, and deformation that forms the trap must occur before all the petroleum has escaped from the reservoir rock 2. Need a porous reservoir rock that is permeable and holds the oil while allowing the oil to percolated through it. 3. The reservoir rock has to be overlain by a layer of impermeable roof rock (cap rock) like shale, which is a geologically impermeable barrier that forms a trap to prevent the petroleum, which is floating on ground water, from seeping and escaping upwards, even when the formation is pressurized.
Anticline
A elongate upward structure of rock - wells drilled on the side of it tend to deviate forming crooked holes
Athey wagon
trailer or wagon with 3 pairs of steel wheels. The rear 2 pairs with catepillar tractor treads - designed for soft ground and heavy loads
Bail
A bail or bailer is a hollow steel cylinder with a dump-valve run inside casing on a wire line for recovering fluids and other material from a well; to bail a well by lowering a bailer to the bottom and recovering bottom-hole samples of fluid, drill cuttings, etc.
Bailing Out
bring up some of the mud in the hole
Barrel
A unit of liquid volume used in the oil industry, usually taken to be (42 US gallons) (approximately 159 litres)
Belt house
the addition built onto a cable tool derrick, which covered all the machinery to protect it from the elements
Bennet Buggy
Car with motor removed and pulled with horses in the 1930's when there was no money to buy gasoline
Bitumen
Petroleum in semi-solid or solid forms
Black Diamond Hotel
Black Diamond had existed as a well defined settlement since the early 1900s as a result of Addison McPherson's coal mining business. Yet it was not until the expanding exploration of the Turner Valley foration in the twenties that local economics made the construction of a hotel feasible.
Black Diamond Mine
The Black Diamond Mine was discovered by Government Land Surveyor James A. McMillan while digging an irrigation ditch. After his death in 1899 the mine was opened by pioneer adventurer Addison McPherson and his partner J.I. Cooper atop the bench that lies west of the present Black Diamond Bridge.
Blakeman's General Store
Blakeman's General Store, the oldest original building in Black Diamond, is still operated by the family that took it over in 1921.
Cable Tool Derrick
had a square open tower, 70-100 feet and 20-22 feet square at the bottom, tapering to 5-7 feet at the top. The four heavy uprights that formed its corners were called "legs"
Cap Rock
a stratum of impermeable or non-porous roof rock
carbon dioxide
An odorless, nontoxic gas, carbon dioxide [CO2] is widely distributed in nature and is a minor component of air. It is highly soluble in water and oil, especially under pressure. In water, it occurs as carbonic acid, a weak acid that can donate one or two hydrogen ions in neutralization reactions that produce bicarbonate [HCO3-] and carbonate [CO3-2] salts or ions. CO2, being an acid in water, reacts instantly with NaOH or KOH in an alkaline water mud, forming carbonate and bicarbonate ions. Similarly, it reacts with Ca(OH)2 (lime) to form insoluble calcium carbonate and water.
Casing
the large diameter pipe cemented in the hole, such as surface casing, protective casing and production casing
Cat Head
Man who ran cat head on the rig; this was before automatic hydraulics and tightening was done manually with ropes and wires
Cellar
A hole in the ground 8-10 feet square and 6-20 feet deep, usually lined with planks, sometimes concrete. The cellar is to provide space below the derrick floor for jointing and unjointing pipe and for the valves and fittings necessary
Christ Church
Christ Church was constructed in 1986 at the instigation of the Reverend Webb-Peploe, the first Anglican minister in the Millarville area. Because of poor health, Webb-Peploe had relinquished his pastoral duties in England and left for Western Canada. He acquired a quater section of land in the Millarville area in 1894 and had a house built of vertical logs. Church services were being held in private homes, and Webb-Peploe was determined that a church should be built. He donated a five-acre parcel of land for the church and in 1895.
Christmas tree
an assemblage of valves and gauges at the top of the casing in a flowing well for the control of gas and oil
Closed System
water passed through the compressor water jackets and out through the cooling water pumphouse. This system had a chromate anticorrosion treatment added to it. Chromate was added as necessary through a pot in the cooling water pumphouse.
Condensate
Hydrocarbons, usually produced with natural gas, which are liquid at normal pressure and temperature
Corduroy
Road built across swamps by laying small trees closely together and covering with earth, sod or gravel
Core
Cylindrical section of rock cut with a special bit and recovered in a hollow steel core barrel
CORE DRILLING
Drilling was done in a predetermined pattern over an area with petroleum potential. A study of the core samples made it possible to construct a graphic log from each core and correlate the strata by their physical characteristics and the fossils contained. Core drilling was an expensive way to map out an area and at times was not always reliable due to the faulted geological formations in the foothills. At this time the geologists were unfamiliar with the landmarking of strata in the samples and made identification mistakes.
Crude Oil
unrefined petroleum
Derrick
A structure placed over an oil well that is used to raise and lower piping, drills and other boring equipment
Derrick Man
He takes care of the big pumps to circulate the mud, also works in the derrick racking pipe (mud hogs) when tripping in or out of the hole
Dewaxing
removing wax build up in well, which prevents flow or production of well
Diamond drilling
Diamond tipped bits used on cable (standard) rigs for drilling in very hard rock
Dog house
small heated building where separator man (operator) keeps his charts, tools, eats his lunch etc. while on tour
Doodlebugger
Amateur geologist. Quote "More oil has been found by doodlebuggers than by regular geologists."
Drawworks
The hoisting mechanism in a drilling rig for handling the drilling tools.
Drill Stem
Drill pipe in rotary drilling, or solid shaft in cable tool drilling, to which the bit is attached.
Dumb corner
Back-up man held rope while the cathead man spun the tongs to tighten drill stem or cable rig. (Where new men started)
Duster
A dry hole; no oil or gas found
ELECTRIC LOGGING with a SUBSURFACE STRATIFIER
Technology improved and electric logging was developed. It works on the principal that all deeply buried sedimentary rocks are saturated with sodium chloride and other dissolved minerals that are present in the ground water. Salt solutions are known to be a good electrical conductors. A subsurface stratifier would be lowered into the well by a cable to measure the conductivity at any desired depth. The resulting electri logs were used to evaluate the information about the underlying formation and determine the probability of a petroleum trap.
ethane
A colorless odorless gaseous hydrocarbon with the characteristics of the predominant molecule, CH3CH3.
Fishing
The attempt with special tools to recover broken drilling equipment (the fish) in the hole
Flare
The burning of unwanted gas through a pipe (also called a flare). Flaring is a means of disposal used when there is no way to transport the gas to market and the operator cannot use the gas for another purpose. Today flaring generally is not allowed because of the high value of gas and environmental concerns
Flooding
to inject water into a depleted well so that any remaining oil is forced to other wells for prodcution or to boost the reservoir pressure to gain the maximum amount of oil left in the ground
Forby or Fable board
similar to Monkey Board. Different way of pipe racking
Forkie stick
Long handled tool used to tighten pipe joints on Cable rig
Formation
layers or strata of rock that have a pattern or structure
Gas Eye
The H2S reacted with tears producing a mild sulphuric acid solution. At night the men would trat this condtion by applying grated raw potato or cold tea bags to their eyelids
Gas Seepage & Flare Royalite No.2
In 1887 two cowboys discovered gas bubbling through water. They were told that it was only marsh gas. The gas was set afire at various times of the year but smothered in dry years to prevent grass fires.
Gas Well
A well that primarily produces natural gas
GEOPHYSICAL EXPLORATION
The next technological advance in the 1920s was geophysical exploration. This method could detect physical property variations within the rocks such as density, magnetism or ability to transmit or reflect sound waves. As most of these variations are related to structures, they indicated the presence of pools. Geophysicists utilized newly developed techniques like seismic (sound) waves, geophones, gravity meters, magnetometers and measuring radioactivitiy to trace subterranean structures. The most useful geophysical exploration tool is the seismic survey. Seismic exploration determines the structure of rock layers by creating an artificial earthquake with blasting. Seismic waves are created. They are reflected by interfaces between layers of limestone and shale. The velocity of the transmission wave is known, therefore the depths of the reflecting layers can be calculated from the travel time of the waves. Analyses of reflections from interfaces can reveal the placement of the strata. Most variations are related to the underlying structures and formations indicating the possible presence of petroleum pools.
Granny-Ragging
Early form of wrapping pipe which utilized gunny sacking material and molten tar, usually by hand
Gusher
An oil well that comes in under such pressure that it spurts oil up the casing, jams the tools in the hole and "out of control" of the drilling crew
Hartell
Francis John Hartell was born in Staffordshire, England and immigrated to Canada in 1881. Almost forty years later, in 1918, the Hartells moved west of High River to where the hamlet of Hartell now sits and set up their ranch. The hamlet emerged in the spring of 1929 when Hartell subdivided a ten acre plot into lots.
Heat Exchangers
a pipe within a pipe to allow temperature contact between the circulating water and the cooling water without mixing them
hydrogen sulfide
A toxic, colorless gas that is odorless at high concentrations but smells like rotten eggs in low concentrations. Hydrogen sulfide is produced during the decomposition of organic matter and occurs with hydrocarbons in some areas. Hydrogen sulfide is a serious and potentially lethal hazard in several regions of hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is also corrosive, requiring costly special production equipment such as stainless steel tubing.
Inlet separation facilities
knock-out drums
Isobutane
A normally gaseous branched-chain hydrocarbon. It is a colorless paraffinic gas that boils at a temperature of 10.9 degrees Fahreheit and is extracted from natural gas or refinery gas streams
Jar Head
Cable tool driller on old standard rigs
Jars
Steel links in a string of drilling tools the leeway of which permits jerking or jarring of the tools without damage
John Ware Carin
John Ware was one of Alberta's popular and famous cowboys. An American who had come to Alberta from Fort Worth, Texas, he was an outstanding bronc rider and cattleman who had a reputation for "fairness and built-in fearlessness". It is believed that Ware was born into slavery, probably in South Carolina. He came north on a cattle drive to Montana's Judith Basin about 1879. In 1882 he helped Tom Lynch drive cattle for Fred Stimson to the Bar U Ranch south of Longview.
Kelly
Hollow 40 foot long square stem attached to drill pipe and turned by rotary table during drilling
Lead tongs
A large set of tongs (about 5 feet) used in jointing pipe
Lease
land rented or leased from owner to drill a well on (surface rights only)
Line Walker
The man who walked along oil lines looking for leaks
Log, logging
A systematic record plotted into units of depth, to describe specific condtions, from surface to total depth of a well including drilling problems and progress, geological data, etc
methane
The lightest and most abundant of the hydrocarbon gases and the principal component of natural gas. Methane is a colorless, odorless gas that is stable under a wide range of pressure and temperature conditions in the absence of other compounds
Millarville
The town is actually named after Malcolm Millar, an early resident who emigrated from Scotland in 1879. Millar served with the North West Mounted Police in the 1880s and settled in the area in 1886 along with the Turners.
Millarville Store And Post Office
The first Millarville store and post office were located in Malcolm Millar's ranch house on his homestead abouth eight kilometers east of the present site. This was the only store in the region serving as a trading post for the Indians who sold or exchanged their furs and buckskins for various trade goods.
Monkey board
Board half way up the derrick, where a man with a safety belt stood, to reach the drill stem unlock the fittings etc and rack the drill pipe when "tripping" in or out of the hole
Mud hog
Big steam driven pump that circulated the mud down the drill pipe and brought the cuttings up the outside. From there it went over a shale shaker screen and the clean mud was re-circulated.
Naphtha
Naphtha was established on December 6, 1929, and its name derives from the main product recovered at the wells on the nearby Home Oil lease. Workers were not allowed to own houses on oil company land. Only leases were available.
Naphtha
Any of several high volatile, flammable liquid mixtures of hydrocarbans, distilled from petroleum, coal, tar and natural gas and used as fuel, as solvents and in making various chemicals
Nipple chaser
Term used to describe workman who did odd jobs around the drill site, picking up equipment and carrying messages to the rigs
No jack
When drilling crew received only part of their pay. The balance only when and if the well became a producer.
Oil drip
A heater to evaporate the gas and catch the oil
Oil Field
A group of pools of oil in the subsurface. An oil field consists of a reservoir in a shape that will trap hydrocarbons and that is covered by an impermeable or sealing rock.
Oil Field:
a single pool in an isolated position or a group of pools usually of a similar type. The pools in a field can be side by side or one on top of the other Oil and gas are the two main types of petroleum Oil and gas generally occur together
Oil Well
A producing well with oil as its primary commerical product. Oil wells almost always produce some gas and frequently produce water. Most oil wells eventually produce mostly gas or water.
Once-through system
water from the river was pumped into storage tanks above the plant. It was then pumped down into the compressor cooling water pumphouse, where it came into contact with the closed system inside two heat exchangers. The heat exchangers passed the heat onto the once-through water, which was sent to the swimming pool located at the east end of the plant, and into the river.
Perforate
To penetrate casing with holes by explosives with a perforating gum run into the hole on a wire line
Petroleum
gaseous, liquid and soild substances occurring naturally and consisting chiefly of chemical compounds of carbon and hydrogen. Of, chemical compounds containing hydrogen and carbon known as hydrocarbons.
Pig
A device that is blown through a pipeline section to remove dust, rust, wax or dirt when the pipe is being laid or in operation
Pipe lining
building pipe lines
Pipeline
A pipe or system of pipes used for transporting crude oil and natural gas from the field or gathering system to the refinery
Plug
to cement off lower section of casing, or/and capping the well with a metal plate before abandonment
Pool
an undergound accumulation of oil or gas in a reservoir limited by geologic barriers. A pool is not a lake of oil - it is a body of rock in which oil occupies the pore spaces. The deposit of petroleum contained in reservoir rock forms three separate layers: gas in the upper pore spaces; oil in the middle pore spaces; and salt water in the bottom
Production
The phase that occurs after successful exploration and development and during which hydrocarbons are drained from an oil or gas field
Propane
colorless gas found in natural gas and petroleum; used as a fuel a fluid in the gaseous state having neither independent shape nor volume and being able to expand indefinitely
Reservoir
a natural chamber of porous rock where a supply of natural gas or crude oil collects
Reservoir
a permeable and porous rock
Rotary drilling
utilizing a rotary drill pipe and bit, producing cuttings which are eliminated at the surface by a mud system; in contrast to the cable tool system of a drill stem and bit working vertically in the hole
Roughneck
a member of the derrick floor crew as distinguished from the driller and the derrickman
Royalite No.4
In October 1920 Calgary Petroleum Products absorption plant burned to the ground. The company was financially strapped and entered into negotiations with Imperial Oil, subsidiary Royalite Oil Company Limited was formed and took over holding and wells which were renamed to Royalite No. 1, 2 and 3 in September 1922, No. 4 later known as the "Wonder Well" was "spudded in". Small gas flows were found at 1770, 2363 and 2871 feet. Not until early November 1923 was a large body of gas found.
Scubber
A device used to remove dirt, water, foreign matter or undesired liquids that are part of the gas flowstream. Used to protect downstream rotating equipment or recover valuable liquids from gas.
Seeps
gas or oil that escapes underlying rock strata vertically to the surface soil
SEEPS and SURFACE GEOLOGIC CLUES
The first petroleum pools were discovered under seeps, and the Turner Valley Oilfield is a good example. In all producing wells, it became apparent that the strata were sedimentary. Then, it was discovered that the structure consisted of anticlines (upside down "V" shaped folds of rock). Petroleum had migrated upwards into anticlines and was trapped beneath their crests. Geologists tried to map the location of similar anticline trap formations in the area. Between 1890 and 1925, surface exposures were the clues used to locate anticline formations. Petroleum traps that were not anticlines, with telltale surface exposures, were more difficult to find.. Buried traps required a method that would reveal structural and stratigraphic traps not apparent at the surface.
Skunk oil
Substance added to scrubbed gas so it can be detected if there is a leak
Snoose
Chewing tobacco; no smoking on the well site
Source rock
silt containing organic matter becomes rock and the organic matter becomes petroleum after millions of years as a result of compaction, heating, decomposition and chemical reactions
Spud
To start the well drilling process by removing rock, dirt and other sedimentary material with the drill bit
Spud
To commence drilling operations, begin "making hole"
Standard Drilling
The cable tool system of a drill stem and bit working vertically in the hole
Stands
Connected joints of drill pipe stacked in the derrick when "making the trip" to change the bit
Sweet Gas
Natural gas that does not contain hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or significant quantities of carbon dioxide (CO2)
Tankee
Man who hauled water in a wagon to supply the boilers
The Fisher Ranch and Dug Out
Early settlers often exhibited great ingenuity in establishing their first shelters. Joseph Fisher from Cumberland, England, immigrated to Ontario and in 1883 came west with a delivery of cattle. He wintered the cattle south-west of Calgary on what would become his own ranch. Not having any accommodation, he built a dug-out in the bank of what would be called Fisher Creek, and covered it with a sod roof. Rocks were carefully lined along the walls and it was deep enough that a tall man was comfortable standing.
The Millarville Race Track
The Millarville races, introduced by the early British settlers, were the continuation of a racing tradition in England and Ireland. The first Race Committee was formed on June 3, 1905, when the residents of Millarville met to discuss the possible organization of an event. The land for the race track was granted to the Committee by Raymond DeMalherbe rent-free for the first thirty-five years. The first Millarville races were held later that month, making the race meet the oldest in Alberta.
The Solloway Mills Co. Building
The Shoprite Store on Main Street Turner Valley was built in 1929 by the Solloway Mills Co., a stock brokerage and investment business. Originally the store was divided down the center and the Solloway Mills Co. operated a brokerage in the south half of the building. The north half was used as Campbell's Clothing Shop.
The Stampede Ranch
Henry Mesinginger Jr. first settled on what is presently the Stampede Ranch in the late 1880s or the early 1890s. The remains of the log cabin which Meinisinger built into a bluff while the ground was frozen during one of this first winters can still be seen behind the main house. The property changed hands twice before the Kuck brothers, Fred, Emil, Tom and Ru, purchased the squatters' rights in 1905 and ran the ranch for fifteen years. It attracted considerable public attention in 1920 when it was purchased by Guy and Florence (nee La Due) Weadick. Both were famous on the North American rodeo circuit.
Tool dresser
Used a blast funance and sledge hammer to make the base of the bit larger (Blunted Out) than the rest of the bit, otherwise the bit would wedge in the hole. The bits had to be dressed every day. Some bits were as large as 24 inches when they started to drill with a cable tool rig
Tool push or pusher
Drilling supervisor
Tour
(pronounced "tower") one of three work shifts on a drilling well. Usually daylight - 8am - 4 pm, afternoon - 4pm - midnight, graveyard shift - midnight - 8am
Town of Black Diamond
Black Diamond is located in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, 52km southwest of the city of Calgary at the junction of Highway 7 and 22 (the Cowboy Trail)
Tubing
Small diameter removable, pipe through which oil and gas are produced from the well
Turner Valley
Brothers James and Robert Turner homesteaded the Millarville area in 1887. Cutting their hay and grazing Their cattle down toward the South Fork of the Sheep River. This area became known as Turner's Valley. The town site that we know today did not emerge until the late 1920's.
Turner Valley skunk oil
people bought sour gas for $3.50 a barrel to burn in their cars. (some got it for nothing)
Whoopee
Light truck, or converted coupe with box in the back
Wildcat
Drilling operations seeking new oil prospects outside "proven" production
Wray/McRae Insurance Agency
This building is actually two separate structures that were bolted together through the middle in anticipation of removal to another locale depending on the anticpated swings in the economy.