Poisonous gas? No one said anything about danger!

Well been working for two entire days in the oil field. Whoo hoo! Looks like I will be getting some real experience starting Sunday night.

Sunday night we will begin a shut down of the plant in order to do maintenance on some of the equipment. This has actually been re-scheduled 3 times that I know of (only once since I started though). It is a pretty big procedure and one of the busiest times for us at the plant.

I am working with some really good guys out there at Salt Creek. So far everyone is easy to get along with and they like to joke around…so that makes it easier. They’ve helped me gang up on Nick and stress him out a little. I’ve got some experienced guys showing me how to work the plant side of things. Today I learned how to start a huge motor called a Clark. Nice name!

The Clark is a 1500 HP (approximately) motor that is used for a low pressure compressor. It helps pump the gas through our plant. Now remember I am new to this …so if what I say is completely stupid…go figure. It has a pretty particular start sequence so that you don’t blow something up or your relief valve. I also learned to take an Amine concentration sample. Amine is used to get the H2S, and other contaminates out of our fuel. Now let me tell you about H2s.

Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) is a colorless gas that smells like rotten eggs (from the sulphur). Often referred to as “sewer gas,” hydrogen sulfide is highly poisonous. Usually, the poisoning caused by hydrogen sulfide is though inhalation and has a toxicity similar to cyanide. It is found in petroleum and natural gas and is sometimes present in ground water. Natural gas can contain up to 28% hydrogen sulfide gas.

At levels of 50-100 ppm (parts per million), it may cause the human sense of smell to fail. Low levels can cause eye irritation, dizziness, coughing, and headache.At high exposures (usually greater than 300 ppm), H2S has the amazing effect of causing the nose to stop perceiving its smell after a few inhalations, which may lead to the inhalation of a toxic or fatal dose (which can occur at 600 ppm). At high levels, hydrogen sulfide gas may paralyze the lungs, meaning that the victim may then be unable to escape from the toxic gas without assistance.

Deaths are not uncommon when people enter poorly ventilated spaces such as deep wells, underground tanks or sewer systems. Since H2S gas is heavier than air, its concentration is highest near the bottom of enclosed spaces.

This stuff is serious! We were monitors to detect anything from 10ppm up. We are suppose to evacuate at 10 ppm. Today we had a leak and the guy was trying to show me how to detect it. I could smell it, but was not familiar enough with it to know what it was. So after using my hand to feel the leak – he placed his H2S monitor down near it. Yeah it read 4.5 ppm. So we called in a crew to repair the leak.

Next we stood by with a 3-way monitor that detects h2s, lel, and o2 gases. These are fatal and flammable. They were welding some stuff near it so we monitored, found a leak, and tarped it off. The leak was very, very small, and we had a good wind blowing the opposite direction, but we would rather be safe than sorry. So I accused the guy training me – of trying to kill me on my second day. LOL

I am getting closer to getting the house. I do not like the home buying process – I do know that. It is a pain, but it is almost finished. I hope to have a new home by Christmas. Pray for me.

Other than that – it is life as normal. Good to be working and learning. I am sure I will have something to say about the shut down. After I rest enough to post about it. Until then…

In prayer,
James