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Upstream Pumping Solutions will debut in April 2010. In the meantime, click here to sign up for periodic email updates on upstream oil and gas pumping. Click here to read more about Upstream Pumping Solutions.

As you know, Pumps & Systems will produce Upstream Pumping Solutions next Spring. In the meantime, if you are looking for troubleshooting and practical tips on upstream oil and gas pumping, please go to the Upstream Pumping Solutions website. We have provided links to articles that we have run in past issues of Pumps & Systems that cover various topics in upstream oil and gas, including electric submersible pumps, screw pumps, seals and pumping in the oil sands. Check back periodically as this section continues to grow and includes articles exclusive to Upstream Pumping Solutions.

Next year, Pumps & Systems will introduce Upstream Pumping Solutions, a special supplement specifically directed toward upstream oil and gas professionals. Click here for more details and a subscription form.

If you are in the upstream oil and gas market, what are some of the problems you face in field? What are the issues you would like to see us cover? We would love to hear from you!

Our team just returned from this year’s Offshore Technology Conference, where attendance numbers showed a slight drop from last year’s. The official attendance number came to 66,820–a strong showing, but not as impressive as the more than 73,000 people who attended the show in 2008. Despite the drop in numbers (largely due to the decline in oil prices, of course, but also related to swine flu fears), the exhibit area was the second largest ever, covering more than 557,000 sq ft with 2,500 companies from 38 countries.

Do you have any questions about NPSH? Make sure to check out our new monthly column Understanding NPSH by Terry Henshaw, P.E. Here is the first installment from the February 2009 issue:

NPSH Article  February 2009

Let us know what you think!

A barrel of crude is at a little less than $38 today. At that kind of price, investing in more offshore drilling and oil sands is not really practical. When oil was at a record $147 a barrel last July, it made sense to heavily invest in r&d for additional oil sources.

In related news, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement yesterday about the Obama administration’s drilling plan:

“The new Administration is stopping [the Bush administration's] headlong rush to open new offshore areas of drilling, calling for a thorough review, with much greater public participation. And Secretary Salazar is wisely initiating a review of the potential for offshore renewable energy, and moving forward with long-stalled rules to ensure that offshore renewable energy projects can proceed in an environmentally-responsible manner.

“We cannot drill our way to energy independence. But by harnessing all of our domestic energy resources, and aggressively pursuing new technology to unleash them, we move a giant step closer toward energy independence.”

Let’s just hope that people don’t go back to their old habits when it comes to oil usage–otherwise we’ll be right back in the same boat if a barrel of oil should surge in price again and gas prices rise dramatically. Because the price of oil doesn’t really lend itself to heavy oil drilling (and the Obama administration wants to move away from that plan), we don’t want to end up with shortages if people should overuse gas while the prices are low.

In a recent conversation with an automation company’s Senior VP of Human Resources, she mentioned how we might see a smaller number of engineers retiring because of the decreased value of retirement savings. She suggested that engineers who planned to retire in the next five years may actually not retire for another eight years or so.

In other words, the country’s economic woes might end up helping the engineering workforce, as it will keep older engineers available to share their knowledge with younger engineers who are just starting in their jobs. We still may not be prepared to fill the jobs that will eventually be vacated by the aging engineering workforce, but at least the economy has given us a little reprieve.

Of course, we can’t neglect this engineering workforce who must work a little longer. They need to be challenged, so they don’t grow weary with their jobs and become less productive. When it comes to the engineering talent shortage, it’s all a delicate balance.

We all know there’s an engineering talent shortage. In the United States and the world, there are not enough engineers to meet future demand (especially with the large numbers of engineers planning to retire). 

I heard something recently from a pump recruiting manager that was equally worrisome. Engineers just graduating from college are jumping from job to job after only three to six months of work. Motivated by a higher paycheck, these young engineers sometimes accumulate a resume of five to eight jobs in two years.  

This is a rather troubling result of the talent shortage. Knowing that their skills are in high demand, some young engineers are naming their price and taking advantage of the needs of the companies. This economy may do something to curb this phenomenon, but it’s a trend worth watching over the next few years.

Here is a preview of two major statistics from our State of the Industry 2009 issue.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Summary of Shipments of Pumps (2007), industrial pumps increased in value 8.1 percent, finishing 2007 with $4,847.6 million in sales. Compare this with the numbers from 2006, which reported a 1.7 precent gain in sales of industrial pumps between 2005 and 2006.

Centrifugal pumps, the biggest market within industrial pumps, increased by 11.4 percent in sales over the previous year, ending the year with $2,401.4 million. In 2006, the increase in sales for centrifugal pumps between 2005 and 2006 was only 0.2 percent.

Take it all with a grain of salt, of course. These are the numbers for 2007, not 2008, so we do not have a measure of the current sales in pumps. It should make our State of the Industry 2010 a very interesting issue. For more of these statistics, keep an eye out for our January 2009 issue.

Today ExxonMobil broke records with the highest profits ever for a U.S. company–making $14.8 billion in the third quarter and posting $37.4 billion for the year so far. That’s great news for the oil and gas business (other o&g companies like BP, Shell and ConocoPhillips have also posted higher profits for the third quarter), but may not continue in the near future given the current price of oil.

While the recent lower price per barrel of oil has been great for consumers, the low price means less money available for research & development in deep offshore drilling and oil sands. That means that in the future, we’ll still be facing decreasing fuel supplies. The lower price at the pump means people will not be inclined to limit travel as they were when the fuel price was more than $4/gallon, which will also decrease fuel supplies. Lower fuel prices also mean less time and money invested in alternative energy sources and greener transportation options.

Let’s not get too complacent when it comes to investing in energy. Just because gas is $2.50 or less per gallon, let’s make sure that we are investing in fuel supplies and energy alternatives for the future.