AVAILABLE 2018 

An Update on the career

Southwest Queensland

I am available for the rest of the year as a contract wellsite geologist Australia wide.

The last completed contract was with Real Energy Corporation, on a two well campaign program, appraising the Tamarama field, southwest of Eromanga, Queensland, about 4 km west of the Cocos field and north of the Mt Howitt field. I had been on quite a few wells in the district since the eighties and nineties, and welcomed the chance to do some more drilling in the area after many months out of the field and work.

The job started early April, and was completed by the end of May, doing the usual wellsite geologist chores, microscopy/fluoroscopy, reports, predicting formation tops, overseeing the mudloggers and the wireline contractor. 

The rig was a super single, very effecient drilling, but tripping- man oh man- so just as good as a triple anyway. 

According to the exploration geologist, it was a tough but good little job, and the company looks forward to getting the field developed. 

It was a very good work environment, the people all great at the jobs, and besides some little usual hiccups to be expected on any drilling/logging job, I enjoyed the opportunity and experience out there. helped to have the intenet on tap too! 

Seven weeks away- at one stage towards the end I thought I can stay out here for another well- next day- noo, not really, a break would be good.

To start the job, I flew to Charleville via Brisbane from Melbourne, and drove to the wellsite via an overnight at Eromaga pub. It was interesting to see the development of gas extraction fields west of Toowoomba to Eromanga- there is a lot of energy developmet to do yet out there. Pass it on, being a geologist and having a window seat at twenty thousand feet- or any altitude really- is one of the best seats for a geologist- or wanna be geomorphologist too!

As it was mid autumn, the weather was warm to cool day and night, some nights with excellent nightshots.

At Eromanga there is a dinosaur museum, a great place for a hour or two to visit, with some of the largest ones recovered from a paddock at a nearby cattle station. The bones were stumbled over by the owner's son a few years ago, he thought a boulder looked really different from others spread around.

There are some other great places to visit on the time off, including Hells Hole Gorge national Park a real surprise to explore, a few hours drive north.

The highways have plenty of cuttings, a chance to study the outcrops that were soon to be drilled through with the wells further west.

Available at this time 2017 as Wellsite Geologist Again

Available at this time 1st January 2017 as Wellsite Geologist A

Again, I can be contacted right now asap even, for contract work as the oil price appears to be rising against all possible odds.

After Trump gets into the office and local legislation tightens so that exploration efforts are far away places from home, times may become uneven but hope gets stronger, as bills chase the unfortunate and make one probably offer unbearably cheaper rates to would be clients.

Afterall, time and money are all in the imagination, some would say suffering is too? Nearly twelve months without alighting upon a working surface; funds, taxes and progeny are looking for support.

Ready to rock and roll!
heres Cheers for '17!

Statoil Campaign Southern Georgina Basin 2014

Statoil Campaign Southern Georgina Basin 2014

Tony Ford Geo Con PL Contract with Stat nearly finished

Well Well Well Well Well

Yes, five wells in the Georgina as a basic Wellsite Geologist is done for the moment, final invoices awaiting.

The campaign, as it was called, required a geology degree person or two for five wells in the Southern Georgina Basin for Statoil, of Norway, to monitor the various services required for obtaining new information about the basin: mudlogging, cores, drill cuttings, wireline data. Descriptions. Measuring. Photographing. Reports. All that gear. And Packing the core, taking some core for specialty analysis. And all that stuff too.

The drilling engineer team and other support people were good, some were contract people like myself that I had worked with before, some Adelaide office/Canadian/US and Norwegian. My off sider, Mike, was new to this area, whereas I had been up the way many years before- I think That Counts As Prior Knowledge Of The Area. Maybe. Mike and I took turns spudding and completing the wells to share the load as the schedule was pretty tight. Stat runs a tight ship, their personnel were obviously professional and the job undertaken with a degree of seriousness that meant business- no prisoners taken! My/our OpsGeo was good, dang good, old Griff had been doing work up that way even before I started there! I was glad at times that he was on the other end of the phone, along with Linn and Rolf above him.

The campaign, five wells, during the second quarter 2014, ended with a heap of nice cuttings and cores, logs and other data for the town office exploration geos to pore over, and make at last a case for something to produce something from in the Southern Georgina Basin.

As usual, cannot be specific about anything remember! And no pics, sorry, of Anything allowed.

The service company guys were all great to work with: Geoservices, Corepro and Weatherford Logging. Anything that needed to be done for us was done, I cannot thank them enough for being supportive to practically a newbie! The Drilling company EDA and the rig EDA2 were not a bad lot, and the catering crew, sometime were Superb in the dinner and lunch offerings. I sort of like the camp structure- all on wheels nearly, but I think that cabins on wheels may rock the place too much when using the stair access. One thing I will have to get used to is the Schramm style single drilling mast, great at drilling, but like watching paint dry while tripping I tell you. Anyway- as I said, everybody did a fine job overall, and I think Stat should be happy with the job done in the time allotted.

Myself, I think I managed time, people, information, travelling and reports rather well- the OpsGeo might slightly disagree there though- always suggesting that that might be better as this sort of thing- as they all do! Spelling, order, time of deposition- Think Tony Think. Yeah- carbonates from the Cambrian are not what I was used to at all, but, now, No Worries Mate. And the bank account for my new company Tony Ford Geo Con PL, is brimming, so I better thank Fendley Consultants for putting my company on their books.

Here's hoping that my performance as a basic wellsite geologist on the Statoil Campaign Southern Georgina Basin 2014 will get me in the front door next time they start up a campaign here in Oz!

Statoil Campaign Southern Georgina Basin 2014

Half way through latest contract in the desert

Half way through latest contract in the desert

Since February this year,  as a Consultant Wellsite Geologist [or even last September?], my latest contracts have been in central Australia, sorta.

Two in north east South Australia, one in central eastern Queensland and the latest desert jobs- three in south east Northern Territory with two wells left. Mostly all for different oil/coal exploration companies too.

The diary has another contract penciled in for August September in WA and offshore too. Which means upgrading or retraining anyway, like a HUET and other necessary paperwork. I would like to have been in on an exploration/development well closer to home, but then I would have to cut the current job by a well- and there is no way I would do that.

More work. Meaning more time from home and family. Life goes on.

I like that I have been able to perform to the job expectations, meaning the feeling I get - "imposter", arises as the work is done. Somehow I feel "yes- but did I do it properly?" And to fly back out to a job- Yes I have.

FUD is seemingly a rational thought too, and recognising it and over whelming that FUD is a victory, as the work completed to date shows. Ten years out of the Oil Patch and plopping back in and working competently is rewarding, and the latest? Well? Half way latest contract in the desert has to speak for itself. I anm expecting to book another flight pretty soon.

three wells in the desert

Since last she wrote

Been to the desert three times since September- or should I say The Outback.

Pirie-01

September to November was near the Cooper Creek, 42 day
contract rather than 21 days, bugger for my bank account, great also for experience with Douglas Short too! A road trip up in a newish Landcruiser with Doug, a dew days layover twice while the camp was full, at "nearby: Innamincka

After that, I had a few weeks off...

AWT

Joined up with AWT International as a consultant if they had anything going in Victoria- headhunted almost. The Gippsland thing looks like it is on hold, but would be nice to get as is close to home.

Klebb-01

December was a hole nearby the Strezlecki Creek road crossing on the Strezlecki Track, just west by 10km or so, for Strike Energy as consultant wellsite geologist on a coal gas exploration well, a solo role, through AWT International, at a nice day rate. Job was as forecast under time and budget, but do not quote me! Seventeen day contract- velly noice! The Weatherford mudlogging guys, expats from Philippines, India, Indonesia and Bangladesh, had crew change issues and I was the taxi driver.  I too had issues as I had left my security ID badge for SANTOS on my desk at home. And iI did not have a Offroad Licence for the hire car! next course... Getting in and out of Moomba for the airport was a hassle. Job was pretty smooth, got to use or try to get into, a composite log assembly program from GeoScience Software. I think the company got a good coal section where they wanted too. Got back home for New Years Day anyway, out of the heat into the frying pan! Was ~48°C+ the day I left at Moomba. And just as warm back home.

Ophir-01

The January well was/is in north central Queensland, "near" Longreach, just northwest of Lake Galilee, a few hours drive via a Hilux 4x4. Nice ride, even over the dirt roads. job entailed a strait forward rotary drilled hole to core point [many a long day... well, three], and a long core interval through formation containing coal beds.

Woopie trails in the desert and old music compilation cassettes

Woopie trails in the desert and old music compilation cassettes

Before the last job started [in Geology!] I found- and then so put in to my van some of my old old old music compilation cassettes. The woopie for the journey to work had no mp2 connection either, and I brought no CDs with me anyway...

So- back to September:

Thus, I was in a travelling time travel machine [most of them others are sedentary- Al La The Police Box of Dr Who- althogh I think it can also fly- where as I could not unless travelling over the speed limit on an interstae hwy counts?], as each was played once through in the van. At least eight tapes I think- it was a eight hour trek to the Other Littler Big Smoke- Adelaide. That was a few weeks ago now. "A Wednesday in September". The tapes were all from the eighties, late night recordings of favorite album songs back then, after a night out with Tarn or the boys and sleep was too far away. Tracks from Men At Work, Split Enz, Beach Boys, Talking Heads, Supertramp, ... In other words, a few. Trouble was, being tapes, no fast forward or skip to next song- [a problem of the general population it seems that we only need to sample our favourite music too now- ie 10 sec, skip, 10 secs, skip til you get what you want unbtil another song name appears on the screen. Anyway- see this guy or this guy- they are good- skip through as short]..

The woopie we are using used to get to the desert, throught the desert, and back from the desert has had radio and a CD player with no MP3 connection. And no auto fridge [for the beer cold drinks.] The trip up and around the desert was not that boring, my friend Doug has a history in the oilpatch going back a long way, so many tales are etched in the back of my mind. Sometimes near Moomba- the mobile phone network would work, weird or what! [Doug might be a generation older than me, but he loves his iPhone5!] and also a radio station, relayed either from Broken Hill, Perth or maybe somewhere in Queensland- but never relavent to ME- I do seem to like My Big Smoke Radio Stations back in good old Vic.

September. That's a long while ago, and the kids have [had?] missed me. Really? #2Son has nearly finished last year of high school and last exams, telling me "I am studying", other people worrying that it does not look like it. Even If I Was Home, I am more than sure he would be telling me that same thing anyway, whether he had or not. Being a teenager once, I remember that.

And I am was up here there, for now, or longer? Was not longer. There was much to-ing and fro-ing on progress the last few days, will this be done or that. One choice was an sxtra ten days- not taken finally. Whew.

I have/had been at the desert job for so long now, I am getting used to the sub-luxurious living conditions and a the far off life of being the incredible gullible dependable single dad is fading away... Ah Innamincka, lovely place... Wow, more than that now, the Melbourne Cup is on as I write, well, back then! Weird life. Not  a housework thang to do. Nice. In a small way.

Posted a month later

ciggies, medictns- i took enuf of those that they lasted right to the end- not as planned but as anticipated anyway- dusty cigs are crap, bur ah well, and the MS meds- could have stretched it out.

Wells since 1983

All the wells I have ever been to, date, client, position, location and the rigs types between 83 to 96 with Sclumberger and Halliburton up to 2000
no's 170 something or Latest Wells
TEDDH-1 for GreenPower Energy Australia, East Trafalgar, West Gippsland, Victoria
Yallourn Power-1 for Lakes Oil Pty Ltd, north of Morwell, Gippsland, Victoria
Pirie-01 Cooper Basin for Tellus/PNC, Inamincka area, easterly on the Coopers Creek almost.



Geology Career   Formal CV

Agenda October to November '13

Agenda October  to November 2013

The desert Job

Doug Short has me along as his off-sider for my third job as consultant. No contracts except handshakes so far, lots of travel food and beer along with a Grand Final.

Waiting for spud and beds at the site. Innamincka, Copley, bed stops along the way- Big Stars, big trucks.

WIll have to investigate graphics programs to do composite logsStarted the desert job end of September, looks like will finish end of October.

Job is north of Moomba, and I am consulting wellsite geologist- night shift. An old friend and colleague, Doug Short is the senior man of the desert job- I consider him as The Mentor, his experience is fantastic, and he
keeps you amused as well.

Updated Linked-In profile, and started another web site for self promotion at this site, a Facebook spin off?

There was a message from a group boss about work in Gippsland next year, so not worrying too much about that yet, nice to have a network growing out there. Wondering whether chasing up insurances have been a great idea, joining a group might mean good money not used well next year- will see what the contract is all about.

That's about the Agenda October  to November '13