20/3 – Excursion Day

Before the fun starts, we have to deal with Gas processing. Not a subject I’m entirely unfamiliar with, but man, working with those phase curves is HARD. The assignments aren’t all that easy, and confusion reigns in the classroom. One of our fellow students brings enlightenment. We run through a whole bunch of pictures of installations, Groningen among them. The morning ends with a documentary on the Troll, a huge platform in the North Sea.

Then it’s time to heave ourselves into our PPEs. Personal Protective Equipment that is. Glasses, boots, helmet and, rather uncomfortable in this environment, a coverall. Necessary all the same of course. We have some fun taking pictures of each other (for many the first time they look like this).





We split into groups and the bus takes me and my group to KCA Deutag’s rig T-201. Drilling is no longer carried out by oil companies, it’s done by specialized companies like Deutag. It’s an impressive sight; the rig is about 30 meters high, and although it’s in full operation, order, peace and quiet reign on the site. After our safety introduction by the safety officer and receiving a pair of protective gloves, we meet the boss. T-201 is commanded by another fellow Dutchman, Bert. Bert tells us that T-201 is almost done, right now they’re busy inserting a fiberglass wirte into the well, which allows them to monitor the situation in the well and the composition of the rock at any depth. We are then introduced to Alex, the Shell company man on location. Structure seems very similar to GLT; contractors carry out all the work, Shell monitors and advises. Alex gives us a tour of the rig, and after a group photo it’s on to our next stop, SCOT.





At SCOT we are received by Henny, who takes us on a tour of his facility. It’s definitely HIS facility; he knows it top to bottom, knows exactly what the status is of every component and has all the statistics ready to dish out at anyone who asks. SCOT is an impressive place; a total number of 9 huge storage tanks make up the larger part of the facility. The rest is taken up by oil cleaning facilities, pumps, fire protection gear and the export piping to the 20km off-shore loading buoys at which supertankers dock to load the oil. About 200 tankers dock at SCOT every year, for a total of 200.000.000 barrels of oil. The visit to the control room is also very interesting. The entire facility is controlled from here. The coolest thing in the place is the 60x zoom camera; it can be pointed anywhere. Henny checks out the board to see if there are any tankers waiting for loading; there is one, the Mt. Cerigo, destination Indonesia. It’s 20km off shore, but the camera tracks it down and gives us a good view of the ship. Great technology. Henny jokes that unfortunately the Empire hotel is obscured by the trees, otherwise they could check out the ladies lounging at the pool ☺



Henny takes across the facility. He points out a pair of pumps which have been operating for 41 years without a hitch. They are Dutch built, by Geveke Werktuigbouw. Good news for me: Geveke is the builder that built my new house in Assen ☺ The tour’s highlight is a visit to tank #5. This tank is currently in overhaul, and we can crawl in and have a look. This is a sight not normally seen of course; usually the tanks are at least half full with oil. The heat is crushing, the smell wonderful; it’s the smell of money, as we say at Shell ;)

After the visit to SCOT it’s time to go home. We drop our PPEs at the learning centre, and it’s off to home. Edwanee, Ru’s successor as course director, has recommended WyWy as our dinner place, and with about 8 guys we check the place out. Edwanee was right; great food for very little money. I eat too much noodles and king prawns in thai chili sauce, accompanied by glasses of frozen mango juice. Can anyone explain to me why I shouldn’t just stay here?