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Videos

Click the image to play the video.

Orphan Well PA Conventional Orphan Well Plugging Stimulus
video clip Historical Oil and Gas Wells in PA (DEP Video)
This Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Comission (IOGCC) webinar video involves discussion of new and emerging technologies for using remote sensing to locate abandoned Oil and Gas wells.
methane burning Pennsylvania family says gas drilling turning paradise home into nightmare
Exploding House NBC Nightly News discussing exploding homes due to abandoned wells leaking methane gas.
Old wells blowsout fracking fluid during fracking of new well Professor Tony Ingraffia discusses the problem of unplugged Abandoned wells in areas where new drilling and fracking are occurring. The fracking process can cause fracking fluids to leak from abandoned oil and gas wells in the vicinity.
Old oil field Save Our Streams PA is working at raising awareness about the health, safety and environmental issues associated with abandoned oil and gas wells.  Additionally their program promotes the plugging of abandoned wells.
video image Abandoned drilling platforms and wells in Gulf of Mexico
Ohio abandoned well program A video about the Ohio orphan well program
methane from abandoned well A video about the problem of methane gas released from abandoned oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania.
well decomissioning Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) avalible through county Conservation Districts to plug abandoned water and other wells. The plugging process is almost the same for oil and gas wells. The exception is that several cement plugs are placed in an oil well to seperate oil, gas and coal layers from the water layer closer to the surface.
Rod line excentric A look back at the history of the oil industry from the perspective of the region where it began.
leaking gas well An abandoned well leaking methane (natural gas)
Abandoned well This video from Save Our Streams PA has a history of the oil industry and drilling and plugging law in PA.

Oil Region

Drake Well Museum does a better job of describing the history of the Oil Region but here are a few links to some interesting videos.

History in Our Backyard Many of the old photos in this film are from the Drake Well Museum and show the hill sides of the Oil Creek Valley

The Early Pennsylvania Oil Industry

Oil in the family: part 1

Oil History

The Evolution of the Oil Industry - Educational Documentary (1940's & 50's)

History of Oil - Part 1

History of Oil - Part 2

History of Oil - Part 3

History of Oil - Part 4

History of Oil - Part 5

Old Oil Field Stuff

As we do our well hunting, we frequently find remenants of oil field activity. Some of the items are familiar to us since they are part of the "central power" system used to operate the pumping jacks. Other items are unknown to us and we go to old oil field workers to find out what they are. Sometimes we are still not sure.

Stream Boiler
Steam Boiler

Excentric
A stripped eccentric

Excentric
Eccentric with rod lines

Band wheel
Band wheel and belt tightener

Band wheel
Pump house with band wheel

Wheel in tree
Tree grown around wheel

Cooling loop
A gas cooling loop

Wolf rig
Not sure what this was used for

Wolf rig
A Wolf drilling rig

Pressure pump
Some kind of pressure pump

Wolf rig
Remains of a Wolf drilling rig