Oil and Gas Chemical Photography Assignment

I did an interesting photography assignment this winter for an oil and gas chemical manufacturer. While most of today's news headlines are concerned with the chemicals used to frac oil and gas wells, this client informed me that the most widely used chemicals used in the petroleum industry are emulsion breakers which help remove the brackish water often produced with oil. Before crude oil can be sold to a pipeline or refinery, corrosive elements like salt water must be reduced to a minimum or entirely removed. In many cases chemicals make that process more efficient and prevent costly damage to pipelines and refineries. Produced water can then be disposed of and in some cases be reused for drilling or fracing new wells.

As a creative, it's my job to focus on the interesting forms, shapes and colors that tell my clients' story in an interesting way. Although industrial sites can be challenging, I was pleasantly surprised. These are just a few of my personal favorites.

A chemical lab for analyzing crude oil samples.

Chemical plant operators observe controls for a chemical reactor.

The Houston skyline is the backdrop for trucks loading oil field chemicals at dawn.

An chemical plant operator inventories chemicals.

ConocoPhillips Drills Niobrara Test East of Aurora

ConocoPhillips began 2012 with the January Tebo 32-2 Niobrara test on part of it's 46,000 acre leasehold near Watkins, CO. That's very close to the 22,000 acre former Lowry Bombing Range which was leased to ConocoPhillips by the Colorado State Land Board on March 2, 2012 bringing their total acreage to approximately 68,000. The photograph below shows a sunset view of the working rig against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains.

Although the bulk of Niobrara drilling and production lies in Weld County well to the north of ConocoPhillips' acreage, there has been a flurry of leasing activity from Weld County south through El Paso County. In an article last fall, The Denver Post listed EOG Resources, Noble Energy, Anadarko Petroleum and Chesapeake Energy among the largest leaseholders in the area with many others pursuing acreage positions. Last June, Ultra Petroleum purchased the 18,000 acre Banning Lewis Ranch just east of Colorado Springs to add to the 100,000 acres it already has under lease.

To view more oil and gas images from around the US, visit Jim Blecha's Oil and Gas Photography site.

ConocoPhillips Tebo 32-2 Niobrara test drilled by Precision Drilling rig 522. Near Watkins, Colorado.