Big News . . . 2nd Edition!!

When I signed up for working with SLB, I knew that I had a chance of moving to a lot of different bases. I guess I never thought I would be going to my 3rd base in just one year!! I knew I was going to move this time but the big question was when and where. My manager here told me the transfer process could take a week or even 3 months . . . it was more like the 3 months for me.

I had been living in a hotel here in Poza Rica for the past 5 months and just got to move in to one of the staff houses with the 2 other Coiled Tubing girl engineers. I even unpacked everything which I have not done since I was in Reynosa over 8 months ago. I guess I have gotten used to living out of 2 suitcases!! Of course since I unpacked everything I found out where I was going the next day and will only be here till the end of the month!

I started to read my transfer letter and it said that I was headed to, drum roll please . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CIUDAD DE CARMEN, MEXICO!

When I first saw this I guess I was a little disappointed because in the back of my mind I thought I was going to Africa or Asia or at least another country where I can finally speak English . . . but I know God has a plan for everything! It did not help that I have had a lot of friends being transferred and quite a few are moving to Scotland to work in the North Sea which would have been pretty awesome! However, Ciudad de Carmen I know will be an awesome experience because I am getting closer to Cancun!! The map shows my first stop in Mexico which was Reynosa, the middle is where I am now Poza Rica, and the last stop is Ciudad de Carmen!

This base is going to be even different than the other 2 which is hard to imagine but everything that is done there is offshore. I always thought it a possibility to go offshore but did not think that it was really going to happen. That means I will be reading on lots of boats and even helicopters! Plus, the base in Ciudad de Carmen has the most Coiled Tubing and Nitrogen units, 19 and 21 respectfully. Most base just have about 5! Having this many units means it has a lot of money so all the new technology will also be there. And to help with the transition there will be 2 engineers that were originally here in Poza Rica and another from Reynosa. Also, and the really exciting thing for me is that I will get to live with my best friend and roommate from Reynosa again. She was transferred there about 3 months ago!

I will now get the privilege of wearing a bright orange coveralls!! I will definitely look like a giant carrot but that is fine with me! You can see the orange coverall below . . . she was just transferred to Scotland, myself to Carmen, John in the white hardhat to Carmen also, and my Italian friend to north Africa. The other girl in the picture quit so things have definitely changed since we were all together at school!

Chile

So with the news of the Chilean miners finally getting to come home, I just wanted to show you a story of what someone I know from SLB was doing during the days leading up to the rescue. It is so awesome to see how even though I work in a very selfish and dark industry, people still care about others even though the will get nothing in return (I especially like one of the last paragraphs about their living situation while drilling one of the rescue holes)! Enjoy!

From the wellsite in Copiapo, Chile, where the Schlumberger drill team is working to reach Chile’s 33 trapped miners.
by Ma Jimena B B on Sunday, October 10, 2010 at 8:34am

IPM REPORTING FROM CHILE...

Like anyone would be, I was interested and intrigued when asked to come to Copiapo, Chile, to act as our company’s interface with the Chilean Rescue team and the world press as Schlumberger joined the effort to reach 33 miners trapped in a gold and copper mine since August 5th, when the main access tunnel collapsed. I needed only a few seconds to decide.

It’s a long way from Gatwick, England to Copiapo, a lonely agglomeration 700 kilometers north of Santiago and 1600km south of La Paz, Bolivia—with little in between. The mine itself is situated 40 kilometers outside of Copiapo, in the Atacama desert, in some of the most barren country on our planet. Since arriving here September 26 and taking up residence in a modest hotel in downtown Copiapo, I drive to the mine each morning, passing first through the camp for family members and the press before getting to the rig, where I spend the day with our team, our client and the rescue management group. They’ve got their work cut out for them.

To recap, Schlumberger has been contracted by ENAP (Empresa Nacional del Petróleo) to drill well “C,” officially called Atacama 33, the second of two rescue holes aimed at the mine’s tunnel network 608 meters below the surface, where the miners are holed up. While wells “A” and “B” are being drilled by mining rigs, which advance through the rock by hammering at it, we’re using a standard oil drilling rig and oilfield technology, which bores through the rock with a rotary bit.

The challenges of drilling here are enormous. The rock to be drilled is much harder than those encountered in oil and gas exploration, and we’re having to drill the entire hole with a very large, 28-inch bit, to make the hole big enough to pull the miners through. Because bits this big are designed for cutting through much softer, surface level rock, they’re wearing out quickly, and we’re having to replace them in rapid succession. Another challenge is getting the hole placement right, so that we eventually end up hitting the tunnel network where the miners are located. This has involved temporarily using a smaller, 17½” bit with greater directional sensitivity, and later enlarging the hole with a 28” "hole opener.” Yet another significant challenge here involves simple logistics—just getting the necessary equipment and people here to the mine, the majority of which and whom come from outside of Chile.

One of the most captivating things I’ve encountered since arriving is the intensity of our team’s focus on getting the trapped miners out, no matter what it takes. We’ve got 12 people at the mine site—four from D&M, three each from Wireline and IPM including me, and two from Smith. Behind the scenes we have engineers supporting us in Santiago, Chile; Neuquen, Argentina, Gatwick and Houston. And tomorrow, Friday October 8, we have a person coming from Houston Engineering to help adapt our wireline to the rescue capsule. Our wellsite employees are living in tough conditions right next to the roaring rig motor—no running water, poor food, sharing five beds between them in two tiny port-a-cabins. It’s hot during the day and cold at night. Yet no one’s complaining and no one’s asking to be replaced. They are here because they want to be part of this remarkable effort. I know, because I feel exactly the same.

Cronin Wedding

So I have been really really bad at keeping up with this for the past couple of months and I apologize. I really do enjoy writing these posts but sometimes it is so crazy at work that when I get home I just crash. Thankfully, I got to go on vacation for 2 weeks to help with this situation and I got to go home!! I was itching to get back to the US like no other throughout the month of September, right before I was supposed to leave for vacation. It finally came true the last week of September . . . I ended up buying my ticket home the day I left which I had never done before!! Another crazy experience to add to my list!

I flew into Raleigh so I got to spend time with a couple of friends and hang out with my sisters and brother-in-law! Plus I found out some news that I am soooooo excited about . . . my sister is having a baby so that means that I am going to be Auntie Sarah (Tia Sarita)!! I am so excited and will for sure be buying a baby poncho for the new one!!

After spending a couple of days in Raleigh I made it back to High Point. I hung out with my parents and got to eat lunch with my grandma which I thoroughly enjoyed and glad I was able to do that! I also finally got to play golf which was the first time in a long time and I actually did pretty good! It was a fun day spent with dad!

However, the main reason of this trip, besides seeing my family, was to go to Sarah Schrum's or now Sarah Cronin's wedding!! I got to spend a lot of time with her and her 2 friends from CO the whole week which was soooooo much fun! It was nice feeling normal though it made it even harder for me to come back to work! I went to there house on Lake Norman, a bridal shower, the rehearsal dinner, and of course the wedding! It was such a beautiful wedding and very relaxing and fun! Plus I got to hang out with Carolyn and Dana . . . I miss them soo much!

And the surprise of the 2 weeks was that I was asked to do chapel for the middle and high school back at my old school! I still wonder why they chose me because I am just doing what any normal person does though in a different country! I was so nervous and not sure what I wanted or needed to say but in the end it worked out because I let God speak through me really than me speaking. I am not really a person that likes to talk in front of people but it was interesting to see how God could use one of my weaknesses for good and gave me peace throughout the morning! I was stretched even while on vacation!

A verse I keep going back too . . .

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.