Lose Control in Gas and Oil Industry Term Paper

Lose Control in Gas and Oil Industry - Term Paper Example Often, these salt producers found the oil and gas that erupted along with the salt brine to be a nuisance. However, some intrepid salt manufacturers sold it for medicinal purposes, or to burn as lighting fuel. Although the natural gas industry is purported to have begun in 1821, George Bissel and Edwin L. Drake created the first drilling rig that was ever used for the specific production of oil on August 28, 1859 near Titusville, Pennsylvania. This well, named the Drake, is considered the first intentional well drilled for oil, as other wells that were drilled at the time were for salt brine or water. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ History_of_the_petroleum_industry_in_the_United_States) The drilling for oil became a phenomenon that sparked many new enterprising companies to start their own oil-related ventures. This â€Å"boom† as it commonly referred to, created a need for workers on a massive scale that was not there in the past. They now needed refineries, drilling tools an d most importantly, manpower. There was so much money to be made in the drilling and production of these new wells that loss of a man’s 2 life became known as acceptable risk, and simply turned a blind eye to the likelihood of being injured or killed. In the oilfield’s infancy, the most common cause of death for these men was the well caving in on them, fires, and explosions. It was not until the year 1900, when a Texas man by the name of Curt Hamill came up with the revolutionary idea of using mud in the hole to flush it out as they drilled, instead of water. This proved to be a remarkable act, as not only did it allow the cuttings to surface, it prevented the hole from caving in. mud is used in just about every drilling operation world wide since. (http://www.enpetroleum.com/texasoilboom.html) 2. Training and Impact on the Oil and Gas Industry In today’s oil and gas industry, there is no longer an acceptable risk hazard associated with the work itself. A singl e death is not acceptable, regardless of the circumstance. Most commonly, deaths occur from either fire or unsafe work, although there are many variables in the number of recordable deaths in the oil and gas sector each year. Given today’s higher standards, the oil and gas business have implemented a wide variety of standards, assessments, and analyses on each type of work performed. These new instructions have greatly improved the production, as well as significantly increased the health and safety of all employees involved. The training of potential employees is extensive, with much emphasis on safety procedures and equipment. They receive this training before they are allowed to enter a location where drilling or fracturing is taking place. Even with company specific training, there are still many other classes all potential and present employees must attend. These include but are not limited to fall hazards and protection, tripping hazards, pinch points, chemicals and the ir uses, confined space 3 training, among other certifications. Another key point in the training of new employees is the stress put on what is commonly called stop work authority. This enables any employee to stop work if any perceived or real unsafe condition exists, without repercussion. This can include shutting down a job completely, and cost the company millions of dollars. This was implemented to ensure safe procedures, and safe work