SJtheFox

First, I'd just like to say thank you. As a kid, I hated reading. I'm a slow reader and the only reading I ever did was forced. A friend gave me The Dark Elf Trilogy when I was a freshman in high school and I read the entire Drizzt series straight through until I ran out of books. That was over ten years ago and I still love reading. Thanks for making me love books!

My question is this: Do you ever get tired of, or frustrated by, writing within the confines of the D&D system?

I'll answer your second question first because my response is a lot shorter. A newly fracked well can produce hundreds to a couple of thousand barrels of oil per day. However, fracking isn't a method designed to produce more than other methods, per se.

When oil forms, it doesn't stay in one place. It migrates along the path of least resistance. That's why you end up with "reservoirs." Reservoirs are areas of lower (not low) density rock with higher porosity so oil moves into and through them relatively easily (it's still like trying to squeeze goo out of a brick). These areas are where we like to get oil from. It's easy, cheap, and doesn't take a lot of mechanical power to produce the oil. Since we've been drilling for oil since the 1800s (the royal "we" that is), we've used up most of the known reservoir oil in the US.

That doesn't mean that we're running out of oil. It means we've run out of CHEAP oil. Fracturing has been in use since the 1950s, but it was never economical until recently because it takes a lot more time, energy, and money. When oil prices skyrocketed, fracturing became a viable option.

Fracturing can be used in areas of rock where oil formed - called source rock. Source rock is very dense and very deep under ground. Thus, the oil in source rock is hard to get to and when you get to it it doesn't want to come out. The oil that wanted to come out already migrated away to a reservoir. Fracturing allows the oil that doesn't want to come out at all to flow somewhat freely. So basically, it allows us to produce oil that wasn't considered producible (because it was too expensive) a few decades ago.

I really am going to write a lengthy response to your environmental question because it's surely the most important one. I'm going to post it in a separate comment because it's going to be really long. Stay tuned.

This is going to sound like a sound bite, but it's not. No case of unreported ground water contamination has ever been traced back to frac.

None.

Groundwater is occasionally contaminated by casing failure which has nothing to do with frac.

When a well is drilled, a government organization - in Texas it's the Railroad Commission and Groundwater Advisory Unit - defines where the water table is located.

If the water table is located at, for example, 300 ft below surface. The GAU might say "You must install surface casing from surface to 450 ft." This means that the only drilling fluid used to that depth is water and when they hit 450 ft they must install steel casing in the hole and then fill the space between the wellbore and casing with specialized cement. After that, they drill deeper then install intermediate steel casing and another layer of cement, so now the water table has two layers of casing and two layers of cement. Then they drill deeper and repeat with production casing. Meaning the water table is protected by three layers of casing and three layers of cement. After every round, the bond between the cement and the casing has to be tested and verified by the Railroad Commission. If the cement doesn't bond properly it has to be redone. Furthermore, the casing must be retested regularly. If a failure is found, the well has to be shut down until it can be fixed.

Point being, it's pretty straight forward that people need clean drinking water. It doesn't benefit anyone to do a crappy job of protecting it. And protecting the water table happens months before a frac crew can get anywhere near a well. Frac jobs are done literally thousands of feet below the water table. Also, frac fluid is almost entirely water itself.

On the subject of sexism in my industry:

One of the most comical sexist experiences I've hadl: The last company I worked for brought food in for the employees most mornings. The men folk would stand around the food buffet like vultures and glare at any woman that attempted to take food before the men were done eating. I used to go take food from them every morning anyway, but I always felt like I was stealing food from lions. If there was good stuff, I'd be sure to tell the people around me, but my female coworkers would always ask if the men had left yet. If they were still around, everyone but me would skulk around in the hallway until the coast was clear. Pretty absurd.

In the company I work for now, it's almost impossible for women to get field jobs. You have to be very assertive. During my interview process, I was clearly the most qualified and enthusiastic applicant, but I was antagonized throughout the entire process. For example, during my first interview, the only questions that seemed to be important to my future boss were things like "Are you going to be comfortable getting dirt on you?" or "You know it's hot outside, right?" or "You realize you're going to be in the field, right? Like everyday? Working long hours?" and so forth. For the record, I applied for the job because I WANTED a field job. After I got through that interrogation, I was brought in for a second interview where my boss took me out to the field and tried to scare me by telling me how dangerous it could be. I found out later that I was the only new hire that was taken to the field even though no one else had any field experience. I was the only female applicant. Curious.

Since I got the job, part of my training was to spend two weeks working as a frac hand. I worked 15+ hour days in the 115 degree weather rigging up/down frac sites, operating equipment, and doing everything the guys did. Nothing about it was fun, but I earned a lot of respect from the other hands because I didn't hide. Those two weeks have rid my daily job of a lot of the sexist BS, though I still occasionally have guys refuse to let me help or tell me that I really ought to be in an office and so forth.

I know that women occasionally apply for frac hand (equipment operator) jobs, but I have heard - unofficially - that they will never even get interviews. I speak from experience when I say there is absolutely no reason for this.

As for the culture, it's changing even if it's changing very slowly. Almost every company I've worked in has had female geologists, engineers, etc. More and more companies are opening up to hiring women to work in the field. I think more women are realizing that it's acceptable, even welcomed, to be assertive and intelligent. The jobs are out there, if you want to fight for them.

Part of the problem is that West Texas is so culturally backward to begin with. Even beyond the oil industry, it's still very much assumed that young women will get married to working men and promptly start popping out kids. Many women out here are highly educated, but they still tend to end up in "traditional" jobs. Which isn't to say that I think there's anything wrong with being a housewife or a teacher or a nurse and so on, but the demographics here just don't match up with the changes taking place country- or world-wide. Ultimately, I think West Texas will catch up, but it will go kicking and screaming all the way.

As for the environmental and political issues with frac'ing. Check the other questions/comments. I'll be posting related answers shortly. :)

Been in the PNW for most of the last 15 years. Can confirm an umbrella instantly signals you're a visitor. Anyone local knows the rain/sleet travels sideways 100% of the time.

edit: After one very funny argument and several nice comments, I've been successfully convinced that some PNWers do, in fact, enjoy a good umbrella. To each their own!

edit2: Really, guys. I acknowledge your love of umbrellas.