Oil and gas companies are continually upgrading drilling and production facilities in response to safety, regulatory, and technology advances, causing the amount of data that an operator must interpret in order to optimize a facility's production to increase exponentially. Trained employees are at premium demand in the field, and companies are willing to pay for skills. However, there are too many skill-specific positions available and too many untrained applicants, and companies within this industry lack the recruiting, training, and experience necessary to train them. Workforce Education at Oil and Gas Companies in the Permian Basin: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential scholarly resource that examines changing technical, data analysis, and decision-making skills required of operations or maintenance personnel, as well as expectations for future changes. The book contrasts these needs against a typical oilfield worker's education level and skillset in order to target potential solutions for the challenges that face today's workforce. Highlighting topics such as economic development, oilfield technology, and employee training, this book is geared toward oil and gas workers, training facilitators, education practitioners, industry professionals, academicians, and researchers.

The book starts with optimum drilling practices, which provide the highest rate of penetration (ROP) at minimum footage cost ($/ft). While these factors are commonly acknowledged in the drilling community, they need to be underscored in any drilling text, especially for those entering the science of drilling and production. These fundamental elements of drilling provide the foundation for more detailed analyses throughout the book. Special features of the book are comprehensive presentation of: 1) Drilling hydraulics, 2) Drillstring mechanics including vibration control, 3) Drilling economics, 4) Maintenance and reliability, and 5) Directional drilling including bit navigation, well path monitoring and directional control. Each of these elements are explained through basic engineering mechanics. Discussions are presented with scientific rigor, but in a form easily understood by undergraduate engineering students. This book is suitable as both a university text and as an industry reference guide.

This publication provides an introduction to piping systems for petroleum fuel pipelines and facilities.