Journally Speaking: Raiderland rising

The mast on the first full-scale, fully operational modern drilling rig on a US university campus has been raised to its working position in—no surprise to this editor—Texas.

When the media release came across the desk early January, a double-take of Texas Tech University’s Double T generated questions. Question one was answered in the release: For those of us without firsthand knowledge of the petroleum engineering program and for whom commencement ceremonies are a distant memory, no, one won’t encounter the rig walking to the student union. For more insight, as Lubbock, Tex., is more than a jaunty road trip from this editor’s home office on a Friday, I reached out to the university.

Donated to the Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering, the rig features a 140-ft mast now in place and pinned to the substructure with a bird’s-eye view of the South Plains from its position on the East Campus Oilfield Technology Center (OTC) on the city’s East Loop 289.

The mast’s raise follows a long process of preparation and assembly, and the rig provides unparalleled training access to students. Texas Tech’s Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering continues to rank as one of the best in the country with continuous improvement at the forefront of its mission.

The rig was bult “to give our students hands-on experience in the oil field under a controlled environment where we have total safety,” said petroleum engineering department chair Dr. Marshall Watson.

Texas Tech has long been held in high regard by the oil and gas industry, Watson told OGJ, for the job it does preparing petroleum engineering students for work in the field, especially in production operations. Upon taking teaching roles at the university in 2006, Watson’s goal was to maintain the program’s reputation and build upon it. He began organizing extended field trips to drilling and production sites, but safety concerns, scheduling conflicts, and decreased internship opportunities during a downturn meant students received less hands-on experience.

Bringing the field to students

“It was a goal of mine to bring the field to the students,” and the university’s East Campus provided a golden opportunity, Watson said. The campus already had a 4,000-ft deep test well equipped with a Lufkin 456 pumping unit, and by 2014 plans were in motion to build the OTC with equipment and monetary donations sought. Three years later, Phase 1—featuring a tank battery, gas-well treating and compression infrastructure, and a building with classrooms and demonstration areas—was complete.

Phase 2 brought the rig. Alumni contributed funds, equipment, and expertise. Companies donated to the drilling of Red Raider No. 2 and No. 3 wells, each 1,500 ft deep.

The fully electric rig has three backup diesel generators and is placed over the wells, previously drilled under supervision of Texas-certified professional engineers working in Tech’s petroleum engineering department. The rig is housed over the No. 2 well and not open to any formation, with steel casing run and cemented in place from the base of the casing to the surface. The rig is fully operational, including the circulation system, drawworks, and top drive. “We can run a drilling assembly in the well, equipped with 9-5/8-in. casing and simulate drilling, making bit trips,” and more, Watson said.

Not only will the rig serve as a training tool for students, it can also be used for research, testing, and workforce development, Watson explained. With the challenge of attracting young talent to the industry, Watson hopes, too, that the functioning equipment generates interest among students at the intermediate and high school levels.

Chalk up another win for Texas Tech University as it celebrates its centennial. From Raiderland to the Houston ‘burbs, Wreck ‘Em.