AADE Response to "Black Gold"
The American Association of Drilling Engineers ("AADE") has posted on its website a rather scathing dismissal of the current TV series Black Gold. Said series purports to give a realistic look at life on West Texas oil drilling rigs.
The AADE takes exception to almost every aspect of the drilling operations displayed on the show, and particularly the health, safety, and environmental issues.
While I'm not experienced in the arcane ways of roughnecks and other drilling hands (all of my field experience was in a natural gas processing plant, which had its own issues), I've suspected – and my friends who do have experience have confirmed – that much of the drama that's depicted on the show is staged for the camera. And the basic premise that the first rig to TD (total depth) "wins the prize" is laughable. But I also confess that there are a number of interesting sub-plots and even some technically informative segments that make the series entertaining.
That's what it's all about, after all. Remember, the network that produced the series was once called CourtTV, so it knows a bit about how to sensationalize the otherwise humdrum and make it appealing to less-than-expert audiences. And while I won't argue with the many legitimate points raised by the AADE, the response on its website seems to go overboard in its paranoia that this series will give the industry a black eye.
So, to paraphrase one of the drillers on Black Gold, "Chill out, you *^&#(&#! It's just a (*&#(&(@ TV show!"
Tip o'the hard hat to MLB for the AADE response
I swear I know that "Wayne" guy from somewhere...
You do. Everybody in West Texas went to high school with "Wayne."
Posted by: Eric at July 10, 2008 01:19 PMGood one, Eric...
I had thought the same thing about Wayne, but I think you just nailed it.
Posted by: Mark at July 10, 2008 03:51 PMEric - I get your drift, know where you're coming from, and on top of that, consider you a friend.
However, I'm more than a little tired of the oil and gas industry getting a bad rap, myself. I've been in it all my adult life, worked myself ragged trying to ensure that my guys and gals had a safe place to work in, thrive in, and that in doing so, they would enjoy a life-long career, should they so desire.
Doesn't help that my background is Big Red, so we had plenty of bad (and might I say, mostly inaccurate) media, and as far as I'm concerned, the industry needs no more.
Janie, I guess I disagree with the basic premise that the show is bad publicity for the industry. All I see is a depiction of actual drilling operations that takes some liberties in areas that the average person hasn't a clue about. I've seen no obvious environmental disasters, but even a completely factual documentary of drilling would show things that the layman might assume are worse than they really are (mud pits, for example).
I'd be a lot more upset about the show if it purported to show back room deals or outright illegal actions, ala J.R. Ewing and Dallas.
Frankly, I think we overestimate the degree to which anyone outside our industry cares about what goes on in the field. They're a lot more concerned about what goes on in the boardroom, because they think that's where their pocketbooks are being pilfered.
Posted by: Eric at July 10, 2008 06:39 PMYou're probably right, Senor. I'm might be a-suffering from a wee bit of tunnel vision.
And I'm just a tad gun-shy. (And more than a little protective of an organization I've served for 10 years, and on the national level for 5.) The show is the talk of the industry, and everybody's griping, about it; probably, if I changed the composition of the crowd with which I hang out to non-oilfield, they would love the show.
Perspective. It changes everything. ;)
Janie, it's all relative. You're still sensitive -- with good reason -- from your days at Halliburton, and I can remember working for ARCO in Dallas and getting internal memos from corporate security about what to do in case of an attack on our building (our ourselves) by anti-oil protesters.
Posted by: Eric at July 10, 2008 09:13 PMI seem to remember that your brother did a little time on a drilling rig. One that I worked on had a guy named Wayne, but we called him Pork Chop. No, I don't know why, but Brent might. I think they were the same age. Pork Chop died a few years ago.
Dale, I'm planning on taking my iPod to FS sometime and showing him an episode or two of "Black Gold." I think he'll get a kick out of it.
I can think of a lot of reasons that driller might have earned the nickname "Pork Chop."
Posted by: Eric at July 11, 2008 09:39 AMI've heard a lot worse nicknames than Pork Chop.
Just sayin'. :)
Posted by: Janie at July 11, 2008 11:16 AMWell, it's worse than it sounds, because he was the only Jewish driller in the Permian Basin. 8-)
Posted by: Eric at July 11, 2008 11:22 AMAbout the publisher
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I kinda like the show, something interesting on a otherwise boring night of TV. The guys that do this show do Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers. They know how to take a somewhat repetitive, boring subject and add a little spice and make it a interesting watch. Sure somethings are faked, like a snake in a gnarled mesquite on the edge of the location or the "we are going to quit drilling" cause its going to cost another 10k to finish drama. But, they take "common man" and make him out to be a little bit of a hero with a herculean task, I swear I know that "Wayne" guy from somewhere...
Posted by: Bleu at July 10, 2008 11:05 AM