Get a CDL in 10 Easy Steps - Start a Career in the Eagle Ford Oilfield

A Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) opens the door to a great career in the Eagle Ford Shale Play. You must have a CDL to drive many of the vehicles used in the oilfield industry such as:

• a combination of vehicles weighing 26,001 pounds or more,
• a single vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of 26, 001 pounds or more,
• a single vehicle designed to transport more than 15 persons (including the driver) or
• any size vehicle which requires hazardous material placards.

You must be at least 18 years old to drive intrastate and at least 21 years old to drive interstate. You'll have to obtain a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration medical certification. Federal regulations require you to show that you have the minimum knowledge and skill by taking tests. The state that will grant you your CDL will administer these tests.

It isn't hard to get a CDL, but it does take a little preparation.

1. License Application

Visit your state licensing agency office and learn about the application procedure. Many states post this information online. Gather all the documents that the agency requires, such as proof of residence, insurance and vehicle registration. Be prepared to pay any fees so that you can complete the application without repeated visits.

2. Prepare for the Knowledge Test

Before taking the written test, read the state CDL manual and answer the sample test questions. Find additional reference material and more practice questions at your public library, in a bookstore or online.

3. Take the Knowledge Test

You don’t usually need an appointment to take the Knowledge Test. Confirm this with your state licensing agency. Read the test instructions. Ask the examiner to explain anything you don’t understand about taking the test.

4. Get a Commercial Learner’s Permit (CLP)

You must have a learner’s permit to practice driving on public roads. Get a CLP from your state licensing agency. A CDL holder must accompany you during your practice sessions.

5. Practice Your Skills

You will take your skills tests in a vehicle that is representative of the vehicle for which you want to be licensed to drive. For example, if you want to be licensed to drive a tractor-trailer combination, you must take the skills tests in a tractor-trailer combination. (In most cases, a tractor with a van or flatbed trailer is all you need to take your CDL skills test.) Practice your skills in a representative vehicle.

6. Prepare for the Skills Test

Inspect your vehicle it to ensure that the equipment is safe, well maintained and meets federal and state safety standards. Know where all the controls are and how to operate them. Remember to bring to the testing site glasses or contacts that you need in order to see properly.

7. Take the Skills Test

Be calm and follow the examiner’s directions. Politely ask for an explanation of directions that you don’t understand. Don’t guess. During the road test, constantly check the view using your mirrors. Be aware of the traffic around you. Follow speed limits and all traffic control signals. Wear your seat belt.

8. Rally After a Mistake

If you do make a mistake, don’t panic! Show the examiner that you can stay calm and in control after a mistake.

9. Go Beyond the Basics

In addition to your CDL, you also need an Endorsement to:

• drive a vehicle combination
• pull double or triple trailers
• pull a tank vehicle
• operate a passenger vehicle in three different classes or
• carry hazardous cargo.

You'll take additional tests to earn these Endorsements. You also must pass air brakes tests to be licensed to drive commercial motor vehicles with air brakes.

10. Think Safety

Stay calm, be confident and don’t rush. Always keep safety in mind both during the tests and throughout your driving career.

Eagle Ford NGL Production Adding to U.S. Supply Growth

Eagle Ford Shale NGLs, along with other liquids producing plays, are helping make the U.S. competitive in the worldwide petrochemical market. "That's a drastic change from just 10 years ago when companies thought there would never be another petrochemical facility built in America", says Wood Mackenzie's Senior NGL Analyst Larry Schwartz.

Eagle Ford NGL Production Growing to 300,000+ b/d

We recently sat down with Schwartz to get additional insight into the growing natural gas liquids (NGL) market in South Texas. In short, he expects the Eagle Ford will go from producing ZERO barrels of NGLs a few years ago to more than 300,000 barrels per day (b/d) by 2020. For reference, the EIA tracks processed volumes of NGL production (at the plant level) and as of the 4th quarter of 2011 the entire market is a little more than 2.2 million b/d. If total production held flat, the Eagle Ford would easily account for more than 10% of the total U.S. NGL market in 2020.

New Petrochemical Plants on the Horizon

Over the past decade, modern technology has kept the industry attractive, but the major companies in the chemical industry have been moving closer to supply in the Middle East. That's all set to change now. Combine the most developed infrastructure in the world with Eagle Ford sized supply and it's easy to see why the U.S. is again the talk of the NGL world.

Add volumes of NGLs from oil plays in West Texas and North Dakota to the developing wet-gas plays like the Marcellus Shale and you see why chemical companies are moving to expand and plan the once never thought of "New Build" plants. It's not speculators stepping in to take advantage of this opportunity either. It's energy stalwarts Dow Chemical, ChevronPhillips (a petrochemical JV between Chevron and Conoco), and Formosa (FTC). The companies are exploring potential plants in the Gulf Coast area and Schwartz attributed the main reason for excitement to "the U.S. has more storage, more pipelines, and more integration between facilities than anywhere else in the world."

ChevronPhillips is farthest along in breaking ground on its Gulf Coast Petrochemicals Project. The proposed plant is being designed as a 1.5 million metric tons/year (3.3 billion pounds/year) ethane cracker. That's large enough to consume up to 95,000 b/d of ethane.

U.S. Joining Ranks of the Largest NGL Exporters in the World

Not only will the U.S. benefit from new petrochemical facilities, but we actually have a hydrocarbon supply that is in great demand in the rest of the world. I didn't know this little fact before, but we're already exporting to areas with fewer resources. While there is only capacity to export 180,000 b/d currently, that number could easily grow to over 350,000 b/d if Targa and Enterprise complete expansions at their Gulf Coast export facilities. Much of the current exports end up in Latin American where there is less infrastructure and NW Europe where LPGs can be substituted for Naptha in the summer months.

While the Eagle Ford is important, it is only one piece of the export puzzle. The potential for exports will go up considerably if Enterprise Product Partners completes a proposed 1,200+ mile ethane pipeline from the Marcellus and Utica Shale region of the northeast down to Mont Belvieu. Add the Marcellus volumes to those from oil producing regions and we should see NGL supply growth for several years to come.

With gas prices in the sub-$3/mcf range as of early 2012, NGLs are a welcomed commodity. As long as the value of the product is linked to high value oil, operators will continue to exploit opportunities in the natural gas liquids market

Thank you again to Larry Schwartz, Senior NGL Analyst at Wood Mackenzie, who helped me put Eagle Ford NGLs in perspective. Wood Mackenzie recently released a more involved supply study on the Eagle Ford and I'm sure you can find more information at their website WoodMacResearch.com

Industrial Space in Short Supply - Houston - San Antonio

Industrial properties are well occupied in Houston.  Energy Service (Oil & Gas) companies have quickly filled available space in order to meet demands from growing oil & gas plays like the Eagle Ford Shale.

Companies Are Expanding and Relocating to Houston

Many of my clients have chosen to remain (and even expand) in Houston as a primary hub, and then open up satellites in South Texas to take advantage of the Eagle Ford Shale Play in South Texas.  Given Houston is deemed as one of the energy capitals of the world, has a low cost of living and enjoys a quality labor pool, companies are oftentimes relocating to Houston.  Therefore, industrial space is being absorbed at a nice clip.  New development has started on 3 speculative projects for distribution space.  This hasn’t happened since 2007.  Also, over 2 MM SF of manufacturing space (buildings with cranes) is under development for both users and future occupiers.  Overall, we know of very little speculative projects underway in any other area of the country.  Notable companies expanding in Houston are National Oilwell Varco, Weatherford, and KBR.

Manufacturing and Distribution Space is Hard to Find

“What do you mean there isn’t an ample amount of industrial (distribution/manufacturing) space available?”  I’m often challenged by this question, especially from companies not in Houston.  Based on challenges in the national economy, it seems industrial property would be readily available in Houston.  Well, that is not necessarily the case, particularly for the West side of the city.  It’s a 94-96% occupied market – and even higher in the manufacturing sector. The Eagle Ford Shale in South Texas has driven demand for industrial space given the need for technology enhancements, manufacturing of products (particularly requiring a heavy crane), and assembly & distribution of those finished products -  such products including valves, tubing, cabling, drilling motors/tools, etc.

Companies Also Expanding into South Texas (San Antonio area)

In addition to the growth and expansion in the Bayou City, Weatherford and Halliburton have announced new locations in the San Antonio area.  Halliburton’s presence will create over 1,500 jobs.  Experts say we’re only in the 2nd inning of this “game”.  This is obviously a significant and positive driver to the San Antonio economy as well.

Oil India Eagle Ford Position Coming Soon?

Oil India is out wining and dining Eagle Ford operators. The company announced it is looking for a minority stake of 20-30% in U.S. shale acreage and is looking at the Eagle Ford. Gail and Carrizo Inked an Eagle Ford JV in September of 2011 and Reliance and Pioneer inked a shale deal in 2010, so it's no surprise to see Oil India might want to follow suit. Oil India has spoken with ConocoPhillips and word hit the news wire early Monday. While it is not out of the realm of possibility, a joint-venture between the two companies would likely include much more than the $200-300 million investment Oil India is looking to make. Oil India might have assets it is willing to trade, but if not the company is much more likely to find a suitable partner in a company with a smaller acreage position. Using the $25,000 per acre price paid in the Hunt Oil -Marubeni Partnership announced two weeks ago, Oil India is in the market to buy 10,000-15,000 acres of prime Eagle Ford acreage. That's much less than 20-30% of Conoco's 220,000+ acres in the play. If the two companies reach an agreement, it will include additional consideration or it will be limited to a much smaller area than Conoco's current footprint in South Texas.

India's state-run explorer Oil India is in talks with U.S.-based companies, including ConocoPhillips, to buy stake in shale gas assets in the U.S., its head of finance T.K. Ananth Kumar said on Monday.

"We are in talks with some of the US-based companies and ConocoPhillips is one of them. They have met us," Kumar told Reuters.

Read more at reuters.com

Corrosion Control in the Eagle Ford Shale

Corrosion control is always a factor in oilfield work.  Above-ground tanks, pipelines, and all manners of equipment suffer from corrosion, both internal and external in nature.  The farther south and west one moves across the Eagle Ford play, the more two interesting physical facts come to dominate external corrosion control needs. Maverick, Dimmit, Zavala, Webb, La Salle, McMullen, Frio, Atascosa, Live Oak and Bee Counties have shallow soils which often contain large concentrations of chloride ion.  This comes from salt deposited when ancient ocean shorelines ranged across the region.  High chloride ion content causes aggressive corrosion rates on unprotected steel.  Just as importantly, the sodium and chloride ions, often found with other ions as well, cause the soil’s electrical resistivity to be very low.  The low electrical resistance means high corrosion current flows, which again accelerates attack on unprotected steel.  Pipelines are buried in this soil.  Tanks are set on it.

Even in the other counties in the play, external corrosion is a big factor.  Those soils are often clayey loams with varying amounts of gypsum and other water-soluble minerals.  So corrosion potential is high, no matter where you’re working.

Best Practices for Corrosion Control

Corrosion protection for these facilities should always include a combination of good coatings, good installation and inspection practices, and well-designed cathodic protection (CP) systems.  Here are some pointers for the southwesterly “half” of the Eagle Ford:

• If constructing bulk above-ground storage tanks (ASTs), put a coating on the bottom plate before field welding begins.  This coating will give partial protection to the finished external bottom of tank.  This reduces the amount of protective electrical current needed.  It lowers capital costs for the CP system, AND can greatly reduce a monthly electric bill;
• If high-voltage AC power lines are nearby, avoid setting up pipeline rights-of-way in “close parallel” to the AC lines!  With the low soil resistivities, high chloride levels, and good coatings, the AC-induced corrosion rates are EXTREMELY HIGH!  (An article about this risk will come soon.)
• Holiday detection is even more important for coatings inspection on pipelines, tanks, and, really, on any paint job where the metal will be in soil or water contact.  Remember, too, that water gets everywhere, sooner or later;
• Coat the bottom of every steel vessel before it is set – not just a paint, but a better-quality and thicker coating!  Dehydrator units, separators, bulk tanks all may be set on crushed rock or caliche, but the chloride ion will move to the metal – just by diffusion – and attack it over time.

These observations and recommendations are based on experience, not on “ivory tower” theorizing.

Basics of Corrosion Science

For those not so familiar with corrosion science, here are a few points to keep in mind:

1. If we just talk about steel, it is not a “naturally occurring” material.  Iron ore is dug up, then combined in very hot furnaces with coke and other alloying metals.  The resulting steel is then cooled, shaped, and so on;
2. A lot of new energy is added in the metal-making process.  As soon as this metal is put into the environment, Mother Nature’s electrochemical processes go to work.  Their goal is to turn steel back into iron ore – rust!  The reason?  All that energy put into the making of steel is now available to be removed.  One physical law is that everything, sooner or later, will be “taken back” to its lowest stable energy content;
3. To prevent or slow down that rusting process, every piece of steel should be coated, maybe even inside as well as outside.  No water, either liquid or vapor, should be allowed to contact it.  Water is the major "rusting agent" around, even if just a vapor or a dewfall.  And there are plenty of other chemicals which may drive the corrosion process, chloride ion being one;
4. Finally, in addition to the coatings, cathodic protection should be applied.  Coatings by themselves are not good enough, because there are always defects or holes in them.  And the cathodic protection should be sized to give protection for as many years as you want the structure to do its job.

Mr. Chapman is one of many professionals who will be contributing to EagleFordShale.com. If you have professional experience in the Eagle Ford and would like to be considered as a contributor, please Contact Us about guest blogging.