Work at Murphy

Cameron has asked for an update of what I have been doing at work, so I am going to spend more time on that this e-mail as well as sharing the rest of the things JaLeen and I have been up to. If you want to skip the work stuff... just scroll down to the part in all caps so you know where the other things start.

     Several months ago I was working on the engineering design for the Manka Facility. Unfortunately, before I could do any design I had to tell them what it cost. Counterintuitive, if you ask me, but that is what they wanted. I had used our current facility design as a basis and had then scaled it down to a 3000 barrel of oil per day facility. I had also removed a lot of the things that I had considered to be excessive in terms of the design (like a connex box for a control room, an elevated pipe rack and a single location for all PSVs) and simplified the design to be easier in construction and engineering (a single one size fits all and a skidded pipe rack for bolt-up in the field). I went through probably 5 iterations of 'cost-cutting' to get down to the number management wanted... and then the trouble started with each of the other group inside Murphy looking at the design and wanting additions (more tankage, an LP separator, a Fuel gas conditioner etc.) I had navigated through a lot of those problems and was just getting to detailed design when Jaimee reorganized our group and I was assigned to do Pipelines. Basically, of the three of us assigned to do it at the time (Meredith, the new hire came later) I was the only one that had succesfully completed a pipeline project to that point, and I had done five. This was easy for me. So I picked up additional projects and spent the next two months helping meredith and renee (the intern) through their projects. I had 6 pipeline I was working, and I was helping Meredith will the details for the 6 we had assigned her (at Murphy we just load up anybody who is willing with as much work as they can handle and then a little but more). Meredith is a trooper and has been doing a fantastic job.

   A little over a month ago, Jaimee made us aware that she would be resigning. We did not have a suitable candidate to take her place, so her responsibilities were divided up. Frank took over all things related to facilities. The pipelines group was a little different. It's not the best organization. I am responsible for assigning and prioritizing projects for the four of us engineers, reporting status on the projects, fixing any threats to the pipeline program, and hiring/firing our construction supervisors in the field. When I started we had 7 inspectors, we are now up to 15. We have let two of our inspectors go, one for poor performance, the other for unprofessional behavior. In addition to all of this, I have also been running my own projects.

   Duphil was selected as the contractor for the 6 miles of pipe we are building for 'Jambers South'. In pipeline projects, my job is to identify the need and the timing, determine a route, coordinate survey, procure the land for a ROW, do the engineering design, and build the pipeline. Sounds easy, but there are a lot of steps... Duphil was selected as the mechanical contractor, meaning they provide welders and pipe fitters and machine operators to trench the line and lift the pipe into the line. Construction was smooth for about the first week, then we started running into problems. Basically, Duphil ran into two main problems; their planner/scheduler had made an error on the planning of the work. They had underestimated the schedule by about a week. Second, their superintendent did not have the experience required for a job of this magnitude. This problem was exacerbated by the lack of strong individuals in the key positions reporting to him. The construction plan for the pipeline work was poor from the start. To make matters worse, one of the Murphy construction supervisors (my representative in the field) was derogatory to the super and became verbally abusive towards Duphil's superintendent. This led to a communication breakdown. When I was able to understand all of the details of what was occurring in the field, I was able to make the personnel changes required to remove that communication break-down and work began to progress more quickly. He new Murphy construction supervisor was able to come in and give additional direction in getting the work done, but the effects of the 'drama' had already had an impact of schedule and budget. Because it was a lump-sum contract (meaning Duphil is paid one set price, no matter how much it costs them to do the work) the relationship between companies became strained... lots of accusations and finger pointing... lots of frustration. Duphil' division manager and I had multiple conversations. I choose to support the Murphy field staff in their assessment of the work required and when. That led to two things, one, it established that you can't 'go around' the field staff if you don't like what they say (This is a crucial lesson I learned early with Murphy) and it led to more terse conversations with Duphil. In the end, money fixes everything... I will pay for a few of the legitimate setbacks that occurred as a result of the change in personnel and their different persepectives on the work that has to be performed and for one item that I mandated... in all probably around $30k in additional costs. Duphil will probably make a very small profit margin on this project - 2-5%... not the best investment for them, but remember - the problems of a poor supervisor and a bad estimate on the time/dollars to do the work are their responsibility.

   I have 4 other pipelines that, together, form the 'KBS project'. Its about 14 miles of pipe in all. Floore industrial contractors is the mechanical contractor. Apart from an injury (laceration to the left leg requiring 5 staples) and some personnel problems (some welder's quit to work for someone paying more, some crew fired for low productivity) they have been doing well. One of our best supervisors is on the project and that has been a definite blessing. The challenge with this project has been in working with utility companies to get the other infrastructure in place. ETC is supposed to provide a pipeline for a sales gas point. I have been riding herd on them and Murphy's marketing guys to keep that project moving... and its been a challenge. The oil sales line has been an even bigger problem. When I took over this project there was a clear plan and I was just executing that plan. In executing it, I needed to get our engineering contractor to design a pump skid to pump the oil through my pipeline to another site where it would be stored and then sold. I was asked to engaged the facilities engineers and make this happen. They raised some concerns about having multiple pumps in series and the technical problems that could pose. In evaluating their concerns, the entire plan we were following was questioned and torn apart. Long story short - projects 'mutate' and turn can turn into something that isn't the best option. 'Cold eyes' or someone who hasn't been involved in the planning of the project can be a reality check and question the assumptions. But just a note - your cold eyes reviewer needs to be someone that doesn't offend people... or you end up with a lot of mad individuals. Just FYI. The facilities guys made some people angry and I was trying to calm people down that whole week. Currently, the new plan is being worked through and it looks like Plains is going to buy one of the sections of pipe I installed - about 4 miles. They'll probably get it for $1. The reasoning is tied up in something called a Firk escalator (I think that's how you spell it) I really don't know what that is all about, but next month I am scheduled for a 3 day economics course, so I'll ask then.

IF YOU OPTED TO SKIP THE DIALOG ON WORK RESUME HERE.

Kristen and the kids came down about two weeks ago. We met them for dinner and I brought along some fruit snacks so that Maddoxwould warm up to me more quickly. Well.. he fell asleep in the car and slept through all of dinner. He didn't wake up until they were leaving. We spent several days with them since then and have had a blast. Maddox loves playing with my legos. I always laugh when he refers to himself as 'you' (ex 'you needs help') because I think he is referring to me! And I love that I can win his attention by saying 'I'm hungry, I'm going to get some fruit snacks' then I just sit down on the couch. He comes over and I ask him if he wants some too, pat the seat next to me and pretty soon he is happy as can be. Mom and Dad don't have high chairs for the kids, so when they came, Kristen put Natalya in a cardboard box and fastened a muffin tray over one end to serve as a food tray. Then she fastened the whole contraption to a chair. Maddox was jealous, so he wanted a contraption too. So we had two little monkeys sitting in some boxes eating their dinner.

JaLeen and I have been babysitting a little girl named Nora when her parents need to go somewhere. Nora is pretty cute, and she has JaLeen wrapped around her little finger. I kinda like her too ;). As 'compensation' for the last babysitting adventure (which we thoroughly enjoy in its own right) they invited us over for dinner last sunday. It was a good time. They made us pizza, which was incredible - a homemade wheat crust - they used BBQ sauce instead of tomato (Nicole, next time we do Pizzas we gotta try this) the only downside was they put broccoli on the pizza... it tasted amazing, it was the best broccoli ever, but still, it meant I had to eat broccoli. (Note, I don't really have anything against Broccoli, but JaLeen thinks I hate it, so I play along... its the same kind of thing where Mom thinks my favorite color is blue, so I play along...) They also fed us blue bell ice cream. Amy decided to let Nora try some and she loved it! Amy was chuckling as she watched Nora eat a tiny bit and then lick her lips and then enthusiastically reach for more. She explained to us that it was Nora's first time eating ice cream. We didn't have the heart to tell her that we had already fed Nora ice cream twice....

JaLeen played in her R-ball tournament and placed second in the women's division. In the men's she had a rougher time. She got walloped when an older guy whacked the ball into her leg. She ended up with a world class bruise. Imagine a target (three concentric circles). Each of these were a different color with the outermost circle being about 5 inches in diameter. Perfect red, blue and black outlines. Couldn't have painted it as perfectly round, or done such a good ob keeping the colors inside the lines. It was a sight to behold. We also tried making bacon wrapped peppers for national bacon day - beware when cleaning out a jalapeno pepper, don't skip the part about using gloves. Also, those guys were hot!! But tasted really good. We also had a BBQ and invited some friends - had a good time. This week we did the food truck meet-up. They had a hamburger stuffed with bacon and cheese - oh my word it was sooo good.

Hmm, JaLeen was offered a job this week with CLI! Which is a good piece of news. It's part-time and is a good place to start as she continues to look for her ideal position. We have both been excited about that. We had fun this saturday using legos to create a floor plan of one of the homes we really like - it was a great test of Geo-spacial memory. We then filled up the floor plan with beds, furniture etc. to start some dialog on how we want to decorate and furnish this house we have been talking about. A really fun activity. Then we made sweet rolls and italian sausage soup... it was a fun night.

Love you all and hope you are doing well!