Well sites and production equipment accessible by road have frequent truck 

 traffic. In marsh areas with dredged canals, small boats are most often used. 

 Much of the monitoring activity involves getting to the well site, making a 

 quick visual check, and recording gauge or flowmeter readings. Personnel 

 spend most of their time traveling from one location to the next. Therefore, 

 efficient utilization of their time requires that they move from one wellsite 

 to another as quickly and efficiently as possible. On roads made with dry 

 fill, dust and traffic may be the only significant consequences. In dredged 

 channels, boat traffic causes wave action and contributes to bank erosion 

 (Ensminger, 1963). 



At the wellsite, the Christmas tree requires periodic maintenance. 

 Because sediment is often carried by the flow from the wells, pipes, valves, 

 and chokes become worn. Chokes are periodically cleaned, and occasionally 

 pieces of equipment are replaced. Spent equipment and cleaning residue is 

 usually hauled away. At the central production facility, tanks, separators, 

 settling ponds, skimmers, and chemical processors must be periodically cleaned. 

 Sediment collects and is removed. It may be piled for later removal or clean- 

 ing. Paraffin and tar-like materials collect in tanks, separators, and pipes 

 and must be removed. This material may be incinerated. Chemicals such as 

 ethylene glycol for dehydrators must be replenished. Finally, petroleum 

 fractions may be skimmed from brine for incineration. 



Both wellsite and production site grounds are maintained. Since the area 

 around the facilities is often surfaced with shell or rock, holes and soft 

 spots are filled to maintain a smooth surface. The nearby grass is mowed 

 occasionally for safety and appearance. It is particularly important to 

 control trees and shrubs that might develop roots that could damage or inter- 

 fere with underground equipment. Control of vegetation on a surfaced area can 

 be a problem, and some lease operators prefer to use herbicides because of the 

 ease of application. 



Since the sites under study are in coastal locations, the potential 

 corrosiveness of air-borne salt requires more frequent maintenance in the form 

 of scraping, priming, and painting. Most metal parts are sandblasted to 

 remove rust and old paint, then they are primed and painted. In some areas, 

 surface owners specify that the color chosen should help blend the equipment 

 into the background. If not specified, however, most equipment is painted 

 metallic silver to reflect heat as much as possible. Sandblasting entails 

 some sand particle dispersal in the air, and it can be noisy. However, the 

 effects are yery localized. 



Gauging and switching. After the crude is separated and treated, it is 

 stored in the stock tanks. When they are filled, the lease operator and 

 pipeline gauger meet to measure the crude produced, and send it to the crude 

 oil pipeline. The gauger measures the height of the tank fluid (the tank has 

 been calibrated previously), measures the purity and density of the crude, and 

 transports it via truck, barge, or pipe to the crude oil pipeline or terminal. 



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