26/01: Oil Rig
Category: General
Posted by: The Agnew Family
In one of the New Orleans Guide books, there is an entry about an oil rig museum in Morgan City about 80 miles from Metarie. When I read it, I thought what a great opportunity to see something we've heard about but have only seen far off in the distance.
From the International Petroleum Museum & Exposition web site: "From 1954 to 1986 "Mr. Charlie" drilled hundreds of offshore wells off the coast of Morgan City, Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. He was the first transportable, submersible drilling rig and an industry springboard to the current offshore rig technology.
"Mr. Charlie" was built in 1952 and finished in 1953. In 1954 he went to work for Shell Oil Company, drilling a new field in East Bay, near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Despite skepticism from offshore industry professionals, "Mr. Charlie" performed up to expectations and went on to drill hundreds of wells for every other major oil company operating in the Gulf, with a cumulative depth of 2.3 million feet. "
"Mr. Charlie" The oil rig is still considered off shore even though it is only a few feet off shore. Today it is used as a museum and a training facility.
This little guy ran out to greet us and after following us for a while decided to go aboard the oil rig. Unfortunately, the cook saw him and chased him off.
The oil rigs are used to drill for oil. A "platform" or "production platform" is put into place when the well is in production. The "platform" is unmanned. Men are flown from oil rigs to inspect and repair when necessary.
An oil rig is like a small town, everything you need is on board. On this oil rig, four men shared a room and several rooms shared a bathroom. On the newer rigs, 2 crew members share a room (one from each shift) and each room has a bathroom. The rigs have a mess hall with cooks, recreation rooms, gyms, medical personal, cleaning staff that clean and do laundry, and maintenance people such as plumbers, etc. Back on deck we see an ROV or Remotely Operated Vehicle, that is used to maintain the sea floor level portion of the oil rig. This is an older vehicle that has been repaired and is now used for training.
The photo on the left shows the tower or Derrick. The photo on the right shows a pipe where the drill is lowered (blue pipe at bottom left) and the yellow pipe apparatus on the top right is called a "kelly" which attaches to the top of the drill pipe and both turns the pipe via. the floor mounted drive gears, as well as connects the mud pump to it, so the drilling mud can be forced down the well.
The beams aren't bent, Ed used his fish eye lens to get more of the room in the picture. This room was used to sift the debris that was produced by drilling. The fine mud was saved and mixed with a special ground rock. The drilling mud is put down the well to prevent gases from coming up the tube and perhaps exploding.
The cat came aboard with the tour group and followed us around the oil rig. I think he was auditing the tour.
The view of the Atchafalaya River from the deck.
From the International Petroleum Museum & Exposition web site: "From 1954 to 1986 "Mr. Charlie" drilled hundreds of offshore wells off the coast of Morgan City, Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. He was the first transportable, submersible drilling rig and an industry springboard to the current offshore rig technology.
"Mr. Charlie" was built in 1952 and finished in 1953. In 1954 he went to work for Shell Oil Company, drilling a new field in East Bay, near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Despite skepticism from offshore industry professionals, "Mr. Charlie" performed up to expectations and went on to drill hundreds of wells for every other major oil company operating in the Gulf, with a cumulative depth of 2.3 million feet. "
"Mr. Charlie" The oil rig is still considered off shore even though it is only a few feet off shore. Today it is used as a museum and a training facility.
This little guy ran out to greet us and after following us for a while decided to go aboard the oil rig. Unfortunately, the cook saw him and chased him off.
The oil rigs are used to drill for oil. A "platform" or "production platform" is put into place when the well is in production. The "platform" is unmanned. Men are flown from oil rigs to inspect and repair when necessary.
An oil rig is like a small town, everything you need is on board. On this oil rig, four men shared a room and several rooms shared a bathroom. On the newer rigs, 2 crew members share a room (one from each shift) and each room has a bathroom. The rigs have a mess hall with cooks, recreation rooms, gyms, medical personal, cleaning staff that clean and do laundry, and maintenance people such as plumbers, etc. Back on deck we see an ROV or Remotely Operated Vehicle, that is used to maintain the sea floor level portion of the oil rig. This is an older vehicle that has been repaired and is now used for training.
The photo on the left shows the tower or Derrick. The photo on the right shows a pipe where the drill is lowered (blue pipe at bottom left) and the yellow pipe apparatus on the top right is called a "kelly" which attaches to the top of the drill pipe and both turns the pipe via. the floor mounted drive gears, as well as connects the mud pump to it, so the drilling mud can be forced down the well.
The beams aren't bent, Ed used his fish eye lens to get more of the room in the picture. This room was used to sift the debris that was produced by drilling. The fine mud was saved and mixed with a special ground rock. The drilling mud is put down the well to prevent gases from coming up the tube and perhaps exploding.
The cat came aboard with the tour group and followed us around the oil rig. I think he was auditing the tour.
The view of the Atchafalaya River from the deck.