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.
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| A chemical lab for analyzing crude oil samples. |
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| Chemical plant operators observe controls for a chemical reactor. |
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| The Houston skyline is the backdrop for trucks loading oil field chemicals at dawn. |
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| An chemical plant operator inventories chemicals. |
