Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Here’s the 12th day of the 12 Rigs of Christmas! You’ll see rigs of companies still here, and others that have come and gone. Some have changed names and colours. People have come and gone. But you know what? Our industry is still keeping our trucks fueled and our people warm. Please share these posts – you might be in them, or recognize others who are.
This is Panther Drilling Rig 4. As with several other drilling companies, I was able to go out and photograph it on its first hole. That was for Caprice Resources about 12 miles north of Estevan, just west of Highway 47. It was generally cloudy and muddy, but I was able to catch some blue sky. I was coming back from Stoughton on a generally cloudy day when it opened up blue for a while, but I could see dark clouds on the eastern horizon coming towards where the rig was. I raced to the lease, parked my SUV and ran up the berm with my heavy tripod and two cameras. Huffing and puffing, I took a pile of high dynamic range shots, using five or even seven exposures to make one photo, by blending them with special software for the purpose. You know how, when you walk out of a mall on a bright, snowy day, your eyes need to adjust? Cameras are like that. They can’t handle very bright and very dark in the same image. the HDR technique deals with that.
That shot, which Panther has since used as their signature picture for most of their promotions, is among one of my very best.
I used to run around the perimeter of leases, usually on the berm, to get shots like this at sunrise and sunset. I’ve found now that I can get the same shot, or even much better ones, by using my drone. I can also do it a lot quicker, from a variety of altitudes and angles. You see that in the gallery at the end. It also reduces my chances of a second heart attack.
Here’s a time lapse video from 2012:
Some of these shots found their way into some massive 8-foot wide canvases, as seen here:
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0050 Pride Upkeep lawn0050 Pride Upkeep lawn
- 0048 Hutts Trucking Safety0048 Hutts Trucking Safety
- 0047 Estevan Oilfield Technical Society 20230047 Estevan Oilfield Technical Society 2023
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0044 PTRC CCUS Aquistore0044 PTRC CCUS Aquistore
- 0043 ALX ten sizes0043 ALX ten sizes
- 0039 Summit ESP Saskatchewan lower third0039 Summit ESP Saskatchewan lower third
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0040 Southeast College safety tickets0040 Southeast College safety tickets
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0029 Latus Viro updated Latus phone
- 0025 Kendalls
- 0023 LC Trucking tractor picker hiring mix
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0019 Jerry Mainil Ltd hiring dugout
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0004 Royal Helium PO Ad 02
- 9001
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And here we are, nine years later, with Rig 4 drilling for helium at Climax this summer:
And here’s Panther Rig 4, drilling a helium well near Ogema this fall:
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Royal Helium drilled two wells at Ogema last fall, seen above. Now they are starting to drill at Val Marie. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
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Royal Helium, drilling near Ogema in 2021. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
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That wraps up the 12 Rigs of Christmas. I hope you enjoyed it all. Maybe next year I’ll do service rigs?
One note: It was only on day 10 did it dawn on me that the song actually says, “my true love gave to me,” not “my missus.” Now, why would I use “missus?” well, check out old Metro singing the 11 Days of Christmas. I’ve sung this version a hundred times more often than the original. I guess that’s what happens when you grow up in Yorkton. :
Merry Christmas from me, Brian Zinchuk, and all of Pipeline Online’s columnists. Let’s hope for $100 oil next year. Hell, we’ll even settle for $85!
God bless us, everyone.
- 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
- 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
- 0050 Pride Upkeep lawn0050 Pride Upkeep lawn
- 0048 Hutts Trucking Safety0048 Hutts Trucking Safety
- 0047 Estevan Oilfield Technical Society 20230047 Estevan Oilfield Technical Society 2023
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
- 0044 PTRC CCUS Aquistore0044 PTRC CCUS Aquistore
- 0043 ALX ten sizes0043 ALX ten sizes
- 0039 Summit ESP Saskatchewan lower third0039 Summit ESP Saskatchewan lower third
- 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
- 0040 Southeast College safety tickets0040 Southeast College safety tickets
- 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
- 0029 Latus Viro updated Latus phone
- 0025 Kendalls
- 0023 LC Trucking tractor picker hiring mix
- 0022 Grimes winter hiring
- 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
- 0019 Jerry Mainil Ltd hiring dugout
- 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
- 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
- 0011
- 0006 JK Junior
- 0004 Royal Helium PO Ad 02
- 9001
- 0002