Once again it’s time for the Texas Progressive Alliance to bring you the highlights from the blogs.

Xanthippas at Three Wise Men airs out some thoughts on the escalation of the war in Afghanistan, and some painful lessons learned blogging about the war in Iraq.

Bay Area Houston claims The Race for Houston Mayor is Now About Race.

Texas is the first state to conduct testing of citizens to determine if their health symptoms are caused from exposure to drilling toxins. But TXsharon is not sure this is such a great idea. Find out why on Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS.

BossKitty at TruthHugger sees a political disconnect between incarceration and rehabilitation within America’s “big business prison system”. Follow through and accountability are casualties of creative budgeting in the criminal justice system with furlough programs, commutations and pardons BACKLASH. Maurice Clemmons was but a single example of a mentally unstable felon. Where was his follow up? Where was his parole officer? Where was the mental health infrastructure that could have defused this violent explosion?

Neil at Texas Liberal asked who are the Democrats running for Houston municipal offices in the runoff election, and who among the Democrats is someone a liberal can support. The post also features pictures and paintings of scenes of gambling as any election is little more than a spin of the wheel.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme sees tea parties and general batsh*t craziness in Nueces County with Club for Growth guy leading the Republican Party.

Teddy at Left of College Station covers the political maneuvering in local Republican primaries, and writes about Obama’s War: Choosing Escalation and Occupation. Left of College Station also covers the week in headlines.

nytexan at Bluebloggin clearly states “I’m Sick of War.” As I listen to Obama’s speech to increase troops in Afghanistan, all I can think of is, the US has been in some kind of war my entire life. Just so you know, I was born between the Korean War and the Vietnam War. We are a war nation. No way to get around it.

WCNews at Eye On Williamson posts about a conversation over Thanksgiving weekend with two Houston Republicans, or Why Bill White can win.

This was Dickens on the Strand weekend in Galveston and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs took a break from politics and spent the weekend on the island. Here are a few photos from the festival.

Charles of Off the Kuff spent much of the week engaged in an email debate on the Texas Tribune with conservative blogger David Benzion over the merits of Bill White as Mayor of Houston and potentially Governor of Texas.

liberaltexan reports on Political Maneuvering Begins in Republican Primaries. It seems that the race for Texas State Senate District Five is gettting compicated. Check it out at TexasKaos.

The Texas Cloverleaf offered it’s prediction on whether Bill White would run for Governor. 1-0! Yes!

WhosPlayin thinks the Texas Railroad Commission is on a ‘power trip’, intervening in the placement of power lines bringing renewable energy to Texas population centers – ostensibly because the lines might cross over abandoned oil and gas wells, or land that might be used for oil and gas wells in the future. *** Citizen Sarah says, an excellent read!!

I had a dental visit this morning. I was in there for two hours ! My goodness ! It started out with just having to take an impression for a bridge and two hours later I had a host of other things done. The light that the dentist uses I am starting to have nightmares with it. Take care of your teeth people !

♫ : Voxtrot

Drilling Holes In My Head

Anchor Resources Ltd (ASX: AHR) announces that the resource estimation for the Wild Cattle Creek antimony deposit (NSW), following Anchor’s maiden drilling program, is now complete. Additional drilling is now being planned to enhance and expand this resource.

Highlights

• Current resource of 17,500t of contained antimony metal (at 0.5%Sb cut-off)
• Anchor drilling extended the main zone resource >120m down plunge
• Further data is required to incorporate gold-tungsten into main zone resource
• New antimony-tungsten peripheral stringer mineralisation not yet included
• Planning of next drill phase is well advanced

Managing Director, Trevor Woolfe, commented “The antimony resource resulting from our recent drilling program provides a strong base for further resource expansion drilling in the New Year. Additional work will also be done to quantify the economic potential of antimony-tungsten-gold mineralisation within, and adjacent to, the main zone.”

Click here to view the full announcement.

For more information, please contact:

Trevor Woolfe (Managing Director)
Anchor Resources Limited
Office: Suite 404, 25 Lime St, Sydney, NSW 2000
Phone: +61 2 9279 1231
Fax: +61 2 9279 2727
www.anchorresources.com.au

After lying dormant for 4,000 years, one of Europe’s most powerful volcanoes, Campi Flegrei near Naples, is showing signs of life.

Instinct would tell you to stay away, but an international team of scientists are doing exactly the opposite. They are preparing to drill a 4km hole into the heart of the volcano to investigate beneath the surface.

Their aim is to pinpoint the source of mounting pressure that has caused the ground at the port of nearby Pozzuoli to rise dramatically over the past 40 years. Identifying the cause would help scientists to predict how close the volcano is to blowing.

“The volcano is breathing and there is a very serious seismic risk,” said Dr Ulrich Harms, a vulcanologist at the German Centre for Geoscience in Potsdam. A powerful eruption would cause widespread devastation and could cover thousands of square kilometres in volcanic ash, he said.

Locals may be alarmed by the venture, but leaders of the €8 million (£7.2 million) project, which is funded by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program, claim there is no real risk of setting off an eruption.

“We’re not going to drill into the magma chamber or erupt the volcano,” said Dr Chris Kilburn, of University College London, one of the lead scientists. “We’re going to be standing on the damned thing so unless we want to commit some sort of collective euthanasia that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

He said that while the drilling would be deep — about 4km (2.5 miles) — geophysical surveys of the area suggested that there was no liquid magma closer to the surface than 8km (5 miles).

Even if they were unlucky enough to hit lava, the cavity of the borehole would be filled with the drill, meaning that there would be little difference in pressure between the puncture and the surrounding rock. The treacly consistency of magma would also prevent it surging through the borehole, which will be less than 1m wide.

“The idea that all the magma would come whooshing up the hole is total Hollywood fantasy,” said Dr Kilburn. “It would be like trying to suck porridge through a straw.”

In June, the Iceland Deep Drilling Project, a similar venture designed to tap geothermal energy from hot groundwater, hit magma without any explosive consequences. The only sign that the drill had hit a seam, more than 2km down, was a sudden drop in the resistance to drilling.

Despite the relative lack of risk, the project leaders expect locals to be concerned. “People in the area aren’t really aware of the project yet, but they are pretty volatile and there will be people upset about it,” he said.

Unlike conventional cone-shaped volcanoes, the Campi Flegrei has the form of a huge cauldron-shaped hollow, known as a caldera, caused by the collapse of land following a massive eruption 39,000 years ago. Smaller eruptions at sites close to the main caldera, which lies partly underwater, have left the land pitted with large moon-like craters.

Drilling towards the centre of the caldera could reveal the source of the upward pressure on Pozzuoli as well as allowing the locations of fractures and magma seams to be identified. One theory is that volcanic gases rising from below the magma chamber are heating up ground water, causing porous rocks beneath the surface to expand.

A more worrying alternative is that liquid magma has been pushed upwards and spread out in horizontal sheets beneath the surface. The drilling, which is set to start early next year, should be able to identify which of the two is taking place.

A secondary aim of the project is to assess whether the heat from the magma chamber could be harvested for geothermal energy. Liquid magma can be over 1000C and ground water at 3km deep is likely to be around 500C.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/science/earth-environment/article6926152.ece

just blogging while im waiting for my tube of filler to soften in a sink of hot water,wanted to hang 3 items but couldnt decide where so ive now drilled 13 holes in the wall…..NOOOOO!

Schlumberger is the leading oilfield services provider, trusted to deliver superior results and improved E&P performance for oil and gas companies around the world. Through our well site operations and in our research and engineering facilities, we are working to develop products, services and solutions that optimize customer performance in a safe and environmentally sound manner.

Just click the text below to download some Schlumberger’s project documents :
1. Schlumberger introduction to well testing
2. Schlumberger Driller Stuck Pipe Handbook
3. Schlumberger Log Interpretation Principles Applications
4. Schlumberger Gas Lift Design and Technology

Sub Company/ Department - St. Peter-s Engineering College
City - Chennai
State - Tamil Nadu
Region Type - Indian
Option - Tender
Work Type - Buy
Tender Number - SPEC/TBI/2009/01
Tender Detail - The detail terms and conditions can be seen in the original tender document.
Pre-Qualification Bid - No
Product Detail - Sealed tenders are invited for Supply of HMT CNC Lathe, HMT Grinder, HMT Milling, HMT Drilling, Pipe Bending, Shearing Machine, Sheet Bending Machine, Brazing Transformer, Refrigerant charging kit, Air Compressor, Refrigerant Gas, Software Packages, Office Equipments, Furniture, Generator, etc from reputed suppliers.
Product Location - Chennai – Tamil Nadu
Project Time - Please refer tender document
Product Note - For additional details please refer the original tender document.
Value - Please refer tender document
Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) - Please refer tender document
Document Fees - Rs.1,000.00
Mode of Payment - DD
Payment in Favour of - St. Peter-s Engineering College – Technology Business Incubator
Tender Release Date - 27-10-2009
Document Sale From - 01-11-2009
Document Sale To - 20-11-2009
Submit Before - 30-11-2009 Time : 1200 Hrs.
Opening On - 30-11-2009 Time : 1330 Hrs.
Signed By - Project Manager
Address - St. Peter-s Engineering College,
Technology Business Incubator, Avadi,
Chennai – 600 054,
Tamil Nadu
India
Ph: 044-26558080, Fax: 044-26555430,
E mail: spectbi@spec.ac.in, Website: www.spec.ac.in
Publication - Hindu
Dated - 31-10-2009
Tendercity Ref. No. - 745332

I know this isn't a shot from the movie, but I laughed.

Drink whenever you see fire.
Drink for every mention of “oil.”
Drink each time you see a drill in motion.
Drink whenever the creepy (read: any) violin music plays.
Drink 5 seconds for each time Daniel says “H.W.” or “my son.”
Drink 5 seconds every time Daniel says “plain speech.”
Drink each time you want to punch Eli in the face.
Drink every time Daniel slaps Eli (and also every time he screams like a girl).

If you attended today’s Oilfield Breakfast in Houston you heard the executive panelists discuss their view of key challenges over the next 12 months.
Frank Patterson, VP of International E&P for Anadarko, really hit the nail on the head when he said access was the #1 concern.
It is not just access to markets in hard countries like Nigeria, Brazil and Venezuela, but access to capital, liquidity, partners, technology and regulatory.
While access to credit markets remains tight, there are significant opportunities in expansion through JVs. Terry Newendorp, founder of Taylor-DeJongh, discussed that deal structures are becoming more sophisticated and are mirroring commercial behaviors that you would see in NOC relationships. Foreign capital, particularly from China, continues to be the highest bidder in most significant transactions. However, how much technology and expansion be afforded to China without some sense of national protectionism? Many countries and companies are weighing that risk today.
Without a doubt, international expansion is the growth market for most conventional plays, many of which are seeing 100MBO fields come on-line. T. Don Stacy, retired head of Aramco Eurasia, sees significant control continuing for the next 15 years through OPEC nations as they slowly ramp up demand while Russia and the rest of the world plateau. It is foreseeable that high reserve regions like the former Soviet Union will continue to grapple with aging infrastructure, technology and internal investment shortfalls while struggling to attract foreign capital.
Doug Pferdehirt, VP of Schlumberger Reservoir Production, is optimistic that the concept of peak oil, or rather peak hydrocarbons, is not realized yet in the North American market. Exponential gains, due to technology, in gas production in tight and unconventional shales are playing a tremendous role as a bridging fuel for the next generation. However, one can argue that attacks on the industry from both the state and federal government via proposed environmental and tax legislation poses a tremendous challenge to the future prosperity of the NA market.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts and connecting with you at the next forum.

My son recently married a wonderful woman this summer. As my son was telling me about the wedding arrangements, he asked me if I would make them something special to put envelopes and cards in at the wedding reception. I offered them a wishing well I made 26 years ago for my wedding. No, they said, it seems wishing wells, gift wrapped boxes and painted mail boxes were what everyone was using and they wanted something different.  

After spending what seemed to be hours trying to come up with something different and out of the ordinary, I came across a wedding card box made from picture frames on the internet.  I could make this, only with a few improvements. The hard part was getting the approval of my wife and future daughter in-laws mother. To my surprise, they loved the idea, and it was time to get started. Just one thing, I wanted to keep it a secret from the bride and groom until they walked into the reception hall.

After a trip to the local Amish lumber yard for some oak boards, and the local craft store to purchase four inexpensive picture frames (they came with the glass, photo mat, and frame back I needed- cheaper than buying them separately) I was ready to get busy.

I started out making my own picture frames, something I have never done before. The box has four vertical supports on the corners, made in two pieces. I routed a slot in the center of each piece so when I glued them together they made a hole for a threaded rod to pass through. Then I cut a dado on both sides of each one to allow the picture frames to slide into them.

I attached the threaded rods to the base, slid the vertical supports onto the threaded rods, and slid the picture frames in place. Then I drilled a counter bore to fit a cap nut to hold everything together and conceal how it is opened. It can all be taken apart, and the picture frames can be used separately. Finally, I routed a groove in the bottom to attach a lazy susan so the box would spin around and the pictures on all four sides could be seen.

The box was beautiful and everybody was pleased with my design and effort. Now the real test, what would the Bride and Groom think?

At the reception, I stood at the door with my wife and the bride’s parents greeting the guests as they came in, listening to the comments and complements on my box. However, I was waiting for the Bride and Grooms comments. As they arrived at the reception they saw the card box and thought it was amazing. They were surprised and happy with what I came up with.

That’s how my woodworking skills became part of my son and daughter-in-laws wedding.

Steve Province – Ohio

The government agency that regulates Alberta’s oil and gas industry Tuesday temporarily suspended the issuing of licences for sour gas projects.

The move followed a court ruling which may have far-reaching effects on the industry and on the rights of people living near sour gas wells.

A court ruling has led to the suspension of sour gas drilling in Alberta.(CBC)

Sour gas contains hydrogen sulphide, which can be fatal, even in small concentrations. It occurs naturally as a result of the decay of organic matter, and is present in one-third of Alberta’s natural gas wells.

Before gas can be moved through the pipeline system, the hydrogen sulphide must be removed not only because it’s poisonous but also because it is highly corrosive.

The decision by the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) affects applications for 69 wells, pipelines and other facilities.

The move follows a court decision on Oct. 28 by the Alberta Court of Appeal. The court ruled that the ERCB erred when it denied three residents living near Drayton Valley, 140 kilometres southwest of Edmonton, their right to participate in public hearings on the drilling of two sour gas wells by Calgary-based Grizzly Resources Ltd.

The board had refused, saying the three women did not live close enough to the well site. All three live between three to six kilometers from the wells.

Gas could drift up to nine kilometres

Modelling done for the company suggested any gas leak would spread only a little over two kilometres. But a new regulation enacted by the ERCB last year creates another zone around wells where the gas might be spread by wind and that extended, in this case, beyond nine kilometers.

The court said the ERCB’s own regulations did, in fact, give the residents the right to take part and ordered the board to re-hear the application.

The court also ruled that the fact that the wells have already been drilled does not mean that Grizzly can go ahead and operate them until the new hearing has been held.

The board said in a release it will not approve any more applications until it can formulate a response to the court ruling. It will, however, continue to accept new applications.

Length of suspension unclear

The extent to which the development applies to other sour gas wells already approved isn’t clear.

A spokesperson for the ERCB, Bob Curran, said it won’t likely result in a long suspension of drilling.

The lawyer for the three women, Jennifer Klimek of Edmonton, said the scope of the ruling remains an open question.

The ruling does appear to require companies in the future to consult with residents over a wider area before they are allowed to drill.

Feds, Alberta pledge $780M to carbon-capture projectNashville judge faces misconduct charges

Better save your pennies boys… there is a huge firearms auction coming up December 4-6, with over 2700 lots of merchandise. Conducted by Rock Island Auction Company (RIAC), this auction will feature many superb 19th-century target rifles, plus large collections of 20th-century sporting arms. Colt collectors should celebrate, as RIAC’s December auction will include over 200 Single Action Army revolvers plus the largest selection of Colt long guns ever brought to auction. In addition to scores of Winchester lever guns, the auction features the largest collection of revolving rifles ever put up for bid.

Overall, this is an exceptional auction, with most items unreserved. Auction items are displayed in a full-color, two-volume catalog, which can be ordered through the mail ($60) or viewed online at RockIslandAuction.com. The auction will be held in RIAC’s Moline, Illinois auction hall. You can bid on-site, by advanced sealed bid, or via telephone.

CLICK HERE to search auction items online. (Many photos and detailed descriptions.)

From early flintlocks to WWII vintage rifles and handguns, this December auction offers something of interest for virtually every firearms enthusiast. Shown in the photo below is an octagon-barreled target rifle, circa 1885. It features an extra fancy walnut stock with a finger spur and scroll trigger guard. There is a single set trigger, and the rifle comes with a 32″ tubular scope on custom mounts. Lot #260, this R.R. Moore rifle carries an estimated price of $2,500 – $3,750.

If you’re interested in a 20th-century piece with a fascinating military history, consider lot #1496, a J.P. Sauer model 30 drilling (triple barrel) shotgun/rifle, complete with case. This “survival rifle” was produced by Sauer for the German Luftwaffe in 1941. It has two shotgun barrels and one rifle barrel chambered for 9.3X74R. The Luftwaffe procured a limited number of these drillings in 1941 for issue to bomber crews stationed in North Africa. The drilling is complete with the aluminum storage case, rarely seen “Drilling M.30″ manual dated “Juni 1941″, factory target serial numbered to the gun, cleaning equipment and belt buckle. Also included with the group is the original capture paper issued to S/SGT C. C. Moorland on April 23, 1945. How much for the Luftwaffe Drilling? RIA estimates this unique gun (with accessories) will draw $27,500 – $35,000.

There is a special grouping of Sharps long Arms in this auction. The rifles, muskets and carbines are comparable to those RIAC sold from the famous Sharps collector Frank Sellers. Two examples include an extremely rare Sharps ultra heavy barrel special order Model 1874 target rifle (photo below) with factory letter ($25,000 – $37,500) and a rare Berdan Sharpshooters Sharps New Model 1859 rifle ($10,000 – $16,000). Such model 1859s were issued to the 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooter regiments (Berdan’s Sharpshooters).

Shotgun collectors won’t be disappointed. Over 200 shotguns will be offered including superb examples from Holland & Holland, Purdey, and Westley Richards. An engraved, gold inlaid, consecutively-serial-numbered pair of Holland & Holland exhibition grade hammerless game bird set shotguns with factory letter is estimated at $35,000 – $65,000. Photo below.

Sub Company/ Department - N.A.
City - Hyderabad
State - Andhra Pradesh
Region Type - Indian
Option - Tender
Work Type - Contract
Tender Number - AMD/CD/ER/BANGURDIH/ CORE/2008-09
Tender Detail - The detail terms and conditions can be seen in the original tender document.
Pre-Qualification Bid - No
Product Detail - Sealed tenders are invited for Core Drilling of 8,500 m in Bangurdih area, Saraikela District in vertical boreholes of depth varying from 275 to 450 metres
Product Location - Hyderabad – Andhra Pradesh
Project Time - 09 Month(s) Month(s)
Product Note - For additional details please refer the original tender document.
Value - Rs.25,800,000.00
Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) - Rs.516,000.00
Document Fees - Rs.1,500.00
Mode of Payment - DD
Payment in Favour of - the Pay & Accounts Officer,
Tender Release Date - Please refer tender document
Document Sale From - Please refer tender document
Document Sale To - Please refer tender document
Submit Before - 12-11-2009 Time : 1300 Hrs.
Opening On - 12-11-2009 Time : 1500 Hrs.
Signed By - Director
Address - Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration & Research
AMD Complex,
Begumpet,
Hyderabad
Andhra Pradesh
India

Publication - Company Web Site
Dated - 30-10-2009
Tendercity Ref. No. - 742766

Sub Company/ Department - Swami Keshvanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner
City - Bikaner
State - Rajasthan
Region Type - Indian
Option - Tender
Work Type - Contract
Tender Number - 15/2009-10
Tender Detail - The detail terms and conditions can be seen in the original tender document.
Pre-Qualification Bid - No
Product Detail - Sealed tenders are invited for construction of tube well in Ajmer.
Product Location - Ajmer – Rajasthan
Project Time - 2 Month(s) Month(s)
Product Note - For additional details please refer the original tender document.
Value - Rs.450,000.00
Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) - Rs.9,000.00
Document Fees - Rs.300.00
Mode of Payment - Please refer tender document
Payment in Favour of - Please refer tender document
Tender Release Date - Please refer tender document
Document Sale From - Please refer tender document
Document Sale To - 03-11-2009
Submit Before - 04-11-2009 Time : 1500 Hrs.
Opening On - 04-11-2009 Time : 1530 Hrs.
Signed By - Officer Incharge
Address - Swami Keshvanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner
Bikaner
Rajasthan
India
Publication - Company Web Site
Dated - 22-10-2009
Tendercity Ref. No. - 731807

Northern Mining Limited (ASX:NMI) has entered an agreement with Southern Gold (ASX:SAU) to jointly fund approximately 480 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling on the southern boundary of George’s Reward in the Southern Zone of NMI’s highly prospective Blair North Prospect.

Previous drilling by NMI within 10 metres of the NMI and SAU boundary intersected 42 metres @ 2.7g/t Au from 32 metres depth. SAU has previously confirmed a zone of mineralisation of 33m @ 1.85g/t Au from 28 metres (including 11m @ 4.1g/t Au) immediately to the south of the tenement boundary (refer announcement released today to the ASX by SAU). The joint funded RC programme has commenced.

As well, NMI is due to commence a ~1,500m RC drilling programme to follow up the recent successful rotary air
blast (RAB) drilling (results announced Tuesday 20 October 2009).

Click here to view the full announcement.

For further information, please contact:

Alan Lockett
Executive Chairman
Email: admin@northernmining.com.au
Telephone: (08) 9244 8499

I spent the first half of the day at garage/estate sales.  I know I have a problem…

Really, though, I figure that I should potentially stock up on supplies now before the sales cease due to the weather.

See, I have a plan.

*****

I overheard some interesting dialogue between some fellow shoppers.  Basically they were all senior citizens who had arrived separately, but know each other based on what other sales they had attended.  They all sounded like antique dealers, and talked about how so-and-so can’t go to sales on the West Side because they had “made too many enemies,” or how all of the antique toys at this one person’s estate sale couldn’t have all belonged to the original owner of the house, or how the people running this sale were “eBay people” (said in a less-than-friendly tone).

Man, I didn’t realize antiquing was so cutthroat.   I was just looking for some pretty junk jewelry that I could tear apart.

Oh, and in an attempt to haggle (because I thought that was supposed to be a given at garage sales), I brought a handful of jewelry to the woman running the second sale and asked what I could get for fifteen dollars (knowing my total for everything was supposed to be a little more than that).  She then went on to count out my items until she reached fifteen dollars exactly and told me that she “doesn’t dick around with amounts under twenty dollars on the first day of a sale.”

Geeze louise, I was just trying to fit in…

*****

At home I spent a lot of time cutting out some new metal pieces and organizing my craft space.  You could even say that I was “working in my studio” — that is, if sitting on the living room floor counts as spending time in a “studio.”

Tomorrow Ryan has the day off of work.  I’m not sure what his plans are, but if he wants to frolic off and do his own thing I may try sanding/painting that furniture I bought last week.

Or, I saw some tuturials on YouTube for drilling holes through stones, so may attempt to do that with the beach glass I collected yesterday.  You’re supposed to keep the stones and drill bit wet so that they don’t overheat and cause the stone to break from friction.  So if I don’t post tomorrow, you’ll know that I got electrocuted from getting water on my flex shaft.

Updates on October 28, 2009:
For a complete and updated list, please visit this page.

———

It is generally known in the oil and gas industry that the big oilfield service companies like Schlumberger, Halliburton, Baker Hughes and Weatherford are manufacturing their drilling tools by themselves, including MWD/LWD tools. They also conduct their own research and development to find best methods in producing and running the tools. The competition among them is so frightening. So much so, that they won’t allow others to possess their tools by any means.

So now comes a question,

“If I want to start a new (independent) Directional Drilling/MWD/LWD service company, where can I purchase MWD/LWD tools and its spare parts if the big guys won’t allow me to do that ?”

This was the main reason which triggered me to list MWD/LWD manufactures and suppliers in this world. To help people like you who want to start a business in this industry.

As far as I know, there were three independent MWD/LWD manufacturers. Now becomes two, as one had been acquired by the other one two years ago. They are not so well known like the big guys, but have been active in this business for such a long time. Their tools are affordable, robust, reliable and their support is also second to none.

—

Who are these guys?

1. General Electric Oilfield Technology (GE OFT)

This company has involved in the oilfield industry for more than 30 years now. They are manufacturing many oilfield equipment used by leading operators and service companies in the world. At the beginning they only provide the well known positive pulse Tensor MWD system, but due to their acquisition of Sondex few years ago, they now have the negative and electromagnetics MWD systems. Besides MWD tools, GE also provides LWD systems, like Gamma Ray and Resistivity tools. How about the price? That all depends on your requirements, whether you need for directional only, directional + gamma, or directional + gamma + resistivity. Just contact one of their representatives nearby you for more information about the price and the support.

More information about GE and its products can be found here.

2. Kambi Enterprises Inc.

Kambi, as stated on their website, is a MWD services dedicated company, located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They design and manufacture their own tools based on GE Tensor design and technology. They have a variety of MWD systems arranging from positive pulse (PP), continous wave electromagnetic (CW-EM) to PP/CW-EM combination. They also invented Rotary Flow Switch (RFS) to extend the battery life for longer running hours. Good news is some of these tools can work together or are fully compatible to GE Tensor tools and existing Landing Muleshoe Subs. For LWD system, they only provide Gamma Ray. How about the price? Once again, it is based on what you need for your project. Just an indication for you, their prices are bit lower than GE prices.

More information about Kambi and its products can be found here.

—

Actually I have heard some other companies which also do the same business as above, but I haven’t time to confirm it yet one by one. So, if you think you know companies where you can purchase the MWD/LWD tools, please let me know. I will add your information here.

In addition to this, I also would like to invite MWD/LWD suppliers out there to provide their information. Tools or systems without spare parts are impossible, right? We surely need to repair our tools someday and do maintenance by replacing some parts with the new ones. So, I guess by adding the suppliers information here would have added values to all of us. Do you agree with me, guys?

FYI, you don’t have to pay me to get listed. It’s free. I am doing this just for fun and hope it would be an useful resource for all visitors of this blog. It is my pleasure to see your business is running well and profitable. Perhaps we could work together someday.

Please stay tuned. This list is going to be expanded soon with more details.

Thank you!

Citing public opposition and tight restrictions, Chesapeake Energy has dropped its controversial request to withdraw a million gallons of water per day from New York’s best trout stream, the West Branch of the Delaware River.

“In light of the limitations proposed for the project and the comments provided by various parties, we have decided to withdraw the application and reassess our approach to the situation,” the Charleston, W. Va. company wrote to Mark Klotz, chairman of the Delaware River Basin Commission, in a letter dated Oct. 20.

In September, when the company asked the DRBC to postpone a hearing on the project, it said it hadn’t had time to examine conditions the DRBC wanted to impose – “particularly with respect to the proposed pass-by flow.” The DRBC had planned to require the company to stop withdrawing water any time the West Branch got down to a flow of 250 cubic feet per second at the withdrawal site, about eight miles below Hale Eddy, N.Y.

The water was to have been used for hydro-fracturing, a method of drilling that permits access to what might be 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas trapped thousands of feet underneath Pennsylvania, West Virginia and southern New York.

Hydro-fracturing has been viewed with alarm by fishing advocates, who fear fragile trout streams will be seen as cheap and convenient sources of water. Each gas welll uses as much as 9 million gallons, and some experts predict thousands of such wells could spring up on the Marcellus Shale formation over the coming years. Hundreds of thousands of acres of private land have already been leased by energy companies hoping to drill.

Hydro-fracturing is also controversial because the water it injects into and then withdraws from wells is densely polluted with highly toxic substances. Groundwater contamination and fish kills from spills in streams have been reported in several states.

I don’t think I can blame the lack of blogging just on the shortening days but I wish I could! The clocks change this w/e and I wish we could stay on BST rather than switching to GMT as we much prefer it. We would rather have darker mornings and lighter evenings, but I know there are huge debates about this issue every year. 

It is just so very busy with the autumn arable drilling thankfully finished today, and now the livestock work is upon us with a vengeance. Perhaps, methinks, this is why mixed farming became unfashionable, because with such a spread of enterprises on the farm there is never ever a respite?

It is not just the routine of daily feeding and checking of pigs, sheep and cattle, but the annual tasks of sorting the ewes into their groups to meet with the rams. And the time of the year when the vet comes to castrate the bull calves, time also to vaccinate the cattle against respiratory viruses, and then after 2 weeks following the vaccine, time to bring the younger cattle in for the winter.

We must be mad, as well as this heavy workload, and the meat sales, we have 5 educational visits in the next month for primary school children, teenagers, and one half day visit which encompasses all ages.

Thankfully, the puppy is not here at the moment, education is vitally important to all of us and since the actual owner of the dog is away studying for a degree in Agriculture at a top University, we thought a bit of proper education for the dog would be useful too. Both students are doing very well, especially the dog, who should be back home next month wagging her tail, walking to heel and always coming back when called!  Training a 9 month old puppy was just too much on top of everything else for yours truly to consider.

Every generation in this household has now either been trained in agriculture and/or land use or is in training. This fact actually makes us quite rare nowadays, and clearly shows that we are also quite, quite mad. However farming clearly runs in the blood [probably no choice with a name like Tull] and cannot be ignored, despite various members of the family trying to do other things along life’s winding journey.

There is more training to be done here too, that of the horse…. Swift arrived 10 days ago, and is being looked after by us. He is a young gelding, who hustled the mares too much in his previous home, and was a quick sale. I happened upon him by chance and was first in. He was not expensive but came without a vetting, as a gamble.  His teeth have been sorted, they were really bad, his overgrown molars had lacerated the inside of  his cheeks on both sides. The vet sedated him while the horse dentist worked.  His back has been found to be tender and tight and is now being sorted by professionals, using chiropractic methods and Equine Touch  amongst other things which I will tell you more about about another time. I was not expecting this, but I am sure he will be fine.

Swift has a very sweet nature and in a few days learnt to cope with the house cow [ he is now THE boss of a very bossy cow], some of the sheep and the pigs in the yard, oh and he has had his first encounter here with pheasants too. All these are vitally important attributes for a farm horse. On Sunday we walked slowly around to inspect all the large machinery in a quiet and deserted yard.

I am in no hurry with him and will take as long as it takes to get him used to what we expect and hope for. If his back needs a rest then he will learn his way around the farm from the end of a lead rope. If I need extra help with his schooling I have friends who will be able to help me. It is extremely therapeutic for me to escape the ringing of the phone and almost never ending streams of emails that pour into the farm office,  for an hour every so often.

I may not be quite so thrilled when it starts to rain and never stops. We have had so little rain we are worried about having enough grass to last the stock through the winter and with the number of acres we have and the low stocking rate that should never be a problem, but this year unusually it is.