“The Gate” Batesville, Texas Dec 20

                                      

Friday, December 20, 2013
“The Gate” Batesville, Texas 48 degrees and wet fog mostly cloudy to 80 degrees and partly sunny.

Happy Birthday to our daughter Chris.

I made Buster’s appointment for the furnace blower repair for January second. There will be another gate guard here on the first to relieve us on New Years Day.

Well there is one truck that went into the pumpjack installation pad with three men to get one pumpjack working, the propane gas engine was acting up. Last night there was a transport truck trying to pickup equipment that I had to turn away.

I went to Pearsall today before the forecasted rain resulting in a muddy road to the paved road. Bonnie had an easier day here at the gate today than I had yesterday as there was no big work crew. As a mater of fact Bonnie had enough time to take her “selfie”.  When I went to put gasoline in Tan Jan I meet another gate guard there and talked a little.

Bonnie

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Dec 19

Thursday, December 19, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 49 degrees and mostly cloudy to 76 degrees and partly sunny. There was a high dry fog this morning nothing to be excited about clearing slowly to the partly sunny later this afternoon.

The workers pickup trucks were lining up again today and I dropped the flag at nine o’clock. They were off to the work pad. Then the rest of the day more trucks coming and going along with the ones that completed their task. At four o’clock with the last ones out that starting tomorrow they are restricted from working there and unless there is permission from the rancher no work on that pad. But they are not complete in the pumpjack installation. We will see what tomorrow brings, I am betting there will be some work done there on that pad.

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Dec 17 & 18

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 39 degrees and mostly sunny to 75 degrees and m sunny. By ten o’clock I had my jacket and sweatshirt off a really nice morning after the full moon.

What a nice day at the gate

Just another work day with the crew and workover rig more crude oil is going out the gate also.

 
Wednesday, December 18, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 45 degrees and mostly cloudy to 62 degrees and mostly sunny. It was a wet fogy morning today clearing early to a nice day.

This is a workover rig departing another gate

Well this is the last day of the workover rig on the pad as that moved out after lunch. The rig was here at the gate and gone before I could even think about the camera. Coming in this morning was a crew to setup the pumpjacks on that pad and I do not know how long or the number of days they will be working at that job. Then the transport trucks moving the support equipment and water removal trucks and a ground water storage tank moving out. All this is moving to another site and starting all over again at someone else’s gate.

I made an appointment for Buster January second to get the furnace repaired, also the entry step, again this morning when I stepped out there was an unexpected movement I have it supported with wood but it needs help.

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Dec 15 & 16

Sunday, December 15, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 42 degrees and mostly sunny to 62 degrees and mostly sunny. A nice crisp clear morning and into a beautiful day.

Nothing other than oil trucks today and most of them were here in the morning leaving the afternoon for football.
Monday, December 16, 2013


"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 32 degrees and mostly sunny to 69 degrees and mostly sunny. A cold crisp morning that warmed early with the sunrise into a nice day.

The work crew started lining up before eight o’clock for the nine o’clock start time. Some did not park close to the side and had to have some move for a crude oil truck to go ahead in to load oil at another site, as inside this gate there are four sites with crude oil wells. Two sites have "flowback" crew and these are producing more than the third site and the fourth site has two wells and the workover rig there in preparation for installing pumpjacks on the wells. A full moon rising on one side and sunset on the other side.

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Dec 13 & 14

Friday, December 13, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 49 degrees and mostly cloudy to 59 degrees and mostly cloudy. Dreary day overcast all day as rain passed north of us going east.

Another busy day (good to pass the time) with work taking place on one pad, and flowback crew working two pads. the following picture is the work site with the workover rig pump trailer (dark) and safety trailers (white). (To enlarge pictures; Click on picture to enlarge, click on the < in the upper left to return to the blog).

Workover rig work site

Saturday, December 14, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 49 degrees and mostly cloudy to 62 degrees and mostly sunny. A little breezy otherwise a great day. Saturday so the work crew on one pad has the weekend off but the flowback crew is working and oil tanker trucks come everyday but the number is always different.

On site crude oil tanks for two wells

Actually there were more crude oil tanker trucks today than yesterday than yesterday. Our propane gas bottle ran out this morning so Bonnie and I decided to do shopping this morning as she has gotten enough sleep (napping) during the night. Drinking water, propane gas and food shopping for me while she watched the gate.

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Dec 12

Thursday, December 12, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 48 degrees and mostly cloudy to 52 degrees and mostly cloudy.

Morning meeting at the gate

The people working on the workover rig site are time limited to start at nine and are arriving at eight o’clock. I go out and sign them up on my log sheet and then they are having a pre-work morning safety and pep talk meeting there in the driveway. So a the crack of nine they are driving in to the work site.


 

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas Dec 11

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

"The Gate" Batesville, Texas 44 degrees and partly cloudy to 53 degrees and partly sunny.

Workover rig in place

There is a workover rig on one pad and two wells with work being performed on both wells. In the end pumpjacks will be installed on both wells this picture is the work on the first well.

We were in that camp for six nights (Sept 25 - 30) waiting for this gate and finding our way around the area, nothing is close by. Wide open space between towns or shopping twenty to fifty miles one way. I drive thirty-four miles one-way to Pearsall for grocery shopping from this gate, while shopping in Dilly is ten or twelve miles closer the selection, what is available and price is better in Pearsall. If we want the Walmart supercenter that would be a different direction in Uvalde, Texas almost fifty miles from this gate. Even the grocery store in Uvalde is larger.

Here at this gate we are six point eight miles from the paved road on caliche dirt road. When there is no rain there is dust that coats the car and when there is rain the road turns to mud and the collects on the car all over. Even the fogy Monday I went to Cotulla for a meeting (forty-seven miles one-way) the mud collected just not a thick layer.