The lights went out the other night at my house. The rapid plunge into near-total darkness - a shock in today's era of stray-light illuminated nights - was preceded by three spectacular, fiery explosions on a nearby utility pole. No doubt some poor squirrel made a fatal misstep and was instantly transported to the big nut farm in the sky.
A total blackout is eerie. It does not take long to realize we are less removed from the primordial goo than we like to believe. And it takes even less time to realize we take an enormous service and goods infrastructure completely for granted. At least in our part of the world, the electric grid is functional and delivering reliable power 99.99% of the time. We are no longer amazed when the lights come on but amazed when they fail.
It is the same at the local gasoline station. We are no longer amazed, as our forebears would be, that fuel is available in seemingly unlimited quantities, under innumerable brands and at bargain prices, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I believe we take the infrastructure that delivers that fuel and other hydrocarbon products almost completely for granted also - and it is our industry. So if you have 5 extra minutes, give some thought to what we have done. It will put things in a new perspective. There is no logical or moral message here. It is just that every once in a while, the magnitude of our achievement is presented to us, and it is, for just a moment, a magic-like revelation.
Another thing struck me during the blackout. I'm not one of the guys anymore. The response to the blackout was swift and well organized. A repair team - those guys in the field - was onsite within 20 minutes and had the juice flowing in another 20. I could see their lights as they made their way through the woods to the utility pole requiring the repair. I could hear their friendly banter. There was a kind of camaraderie among them that I remember from time spent drilling wells offshore and onshore.
The rigs I toured at Parker Drilling's facility in New Iberia, La., provoked the same feeling. To the hands on the rigs, I was a suit, someone from the office world that had little in common with them or the work they did. They were friendly, naturally, and really nice guys, but I was not part of the club. Long ago, I enjoyed being part of that club. And there are a lot of times I wish I could be part of the club again. Of course, if the rig hands ever heard me say that they would question my sanity, and most likely not in medical terminology.
Lang joins Hart's E&P
We have some good news. Karl Lang joins Hart's E&P this month as Senior Editor, Production. Karl is no stranger to many of you. He has been with Hart Publications since 1995, producing a quarterly magazine named Gas Tips for the Gas Technology Institute and the US Department of Energy. Gas Tips covers technical issues in the upstream industry for a loyal audience of exploration and production technologists. It is a natural fit for Karl, a degreed petroleum engineer with a career marked by service for Chevron's offshore production unit out of New Orleans, La.
Karl will continue to produce Gas Tips. In addition, he will oversee Hart's E&P's coverage of oil and gas production and production optimization technology. It is a move we are proud to announce and one that will ensure unmatched coverage of production issues and technology. Welcome aboard, Karl.

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