TPT September 2011

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106 S eptember 2011 ›
Global Marketplace
At the nexus of the Eagle Ford Shale and
the Union Pacific Railroad: jobs
With unemployment a worrisome and persistent problem in the
US, and probably the major hurdle in the way of President Barack
Obama’s re-election in 2012, any good news on the jobs front tends
to be examined closely for its teaching potential. In June, a story out
of the Texas oil patch suggested that the secret lies in the earnest
pursuit of mutually beneficial interests.
Writing in the SanAntonio Express-News, David Hendricks observed
that, whenever oil and natural gas come out of the ground, “plenty
of people make money” – from the investors and landowners to the
drilling equipment companies and crew workers.
So do the companies that provide services to those people. The
railroads are among those companies. And, Mr Hendricks writes,
“They are grateful for the new South Texas oil-and-gas play known
as the Eagle Ford Shale.”
Accordingly, Union Pacific Corp (Omaha, Nebraska), operator of
the largest railroad network in the US, has taken action in Texas
and put people in place to implement it. It has reopened a nearly
dormant switching yard; reactivated short lines in South Texas; and
organised two new business development units, one to seek new
customers and another to assist existing customers with expanded
needs stemming from the rock formation that is among the hottest
of the North American shale fields. (“Eagle Ford Boosts Railroad
Activity,” 3 June)
Not only has Union Pacific rehired all the Texas workers it furloughed
during the 2007-09 recession – it has taken on additional workers in
San Antonio, Laredo and Eagle Pass. The reopened East Yard in
San Antonio, which during the economic downturn was used only
for storage, has regained its role in materials transport and added
about 25 employees.
Raquel Espinoza-Williams, a UP corporate relations and
media director, told the Express-News that the railroad is currently
looking for between 50 and 75 additional workers: train crew, yard
support people, shuttle drivers and managers.
› Mr Hendricks reported on the stimulus effect of Union Pacific in
the area. About 75 miles south of San Antonio, the Gardendale
Railroad has reactivated a spur of about 1,600 feet of track – shut
down in the mid-1990s – that connects to a UP track. And the
Gardendale is building another 30,000 feet of track, mainly to move
sand and pipes. Pipe is, of course, a staple of oil and gas exploration
and development. Sand is used in the water/chemical mixture used
to fracture shale rock, a process that shakes loose the oil and natural
gas.
Ms Espinoza-Williams told Mr Hendricks that the pipes carried by
UP originate in California, Arkansas, Louisiana and other states.
The sand comes from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri and
Arkansas. Union Pacific also hauls rock for use in making access
roads to remote drilling sites. And it is transporting crude oil from
such sites to Gulf Coast refineries. Port San Antonio’s East Kelly
Railport, as well, is busy lately, at least in part as a result of higher
Eagle Ford activity.
219mm x 14mm API Pipe Mill Finishing Plant with 16mm Slitting Line
Year 2005, Thickness Range: 3mm – 14mm, Pipe Diameter: 76.2mm – 219mm, Line
Speed: 30 – 40 meters/min, Coil Capacity: 30 Tons, Shaft Diameter: 200mm, Complete
Mill with: Horizontal Accumulator, Forming Mill, Welding Section, 600Kw Thermatool Solid
State Welder, 3 x 500Kw Seam Annealers, Sizing Mill, Milling Type Cut-Off, 6 Roll Pipe
Straightener, Tooling, 1700mm x 16mm x 30 Ton Slitting Line, Slitter Head, 330mm Diameter
Arbors, Recoiler, 2 Speed Gear Box, 338Kw DC Drive, Complete Line.
5" ERW Carbon Steel Pipe Mill
63.5mm – 127mm Diameter, Wall Thickness: 1.4mm – 5mm, Max: 80 m/min, Uncoiler, Shear
& Welder, Forming, Stand Shaft: 90mm, 450Kw HF Welder, 6 Sizing Stands & 2 Turks Heads
Cut-Off: Flying Friction Saw Type, Straightener, End Facing.
Abbey Etna 2KU Welded Tube Mill
Capacity: ½' – 3", Wall Thickness: Up to .134", Speed: Up to 300 FPM, 10,00- Double Sided
Uncoiler, Mill: 75 HP DC Motor, 300KVA High Frequency Welder, ID/OD Scarfing, 3 Sizing
Stands, 75HP DC Motor, 2 Turks Heads, Eddy Current Tester, Allen Bradley Controls, PLC,
Alpha Swing Ram Cut-Off, 27 Sets of Tooling for Rounds, Squares and Rectangles.
3" DMS-Loire W2.5 Tube Mill Line
Year: 1981, Model: W2.5, Diameter Range: 20mm – 76mm (¾" – 3"), Line Speed: 20 – 60
meters/min (65 – 196 FPM), Thickness Range: 1.5mm – 4mm (.059" - .157"), Complete
Mill with: Double End Uncoiler, Entry Leveler, Shear & End Welder, DMS-Loire Tube Mill,
Shaft Diameter: 90mm, GH Electrotermica SA, Solid State 250Kw Welder, OD Scarfing, ID
Scarfing, Flying Cutoff, Hydraulic Accelerator, Complete Mill, Tooling.
2½" x .125" T&H WU-25 Tube Mill
Tube Diameter: ½" – 2.5", Wall Thickness: .028" - .125" (3.1 mm), Maximum Line Speed:
300 FPM, Spindle Diameter: 2½" (63.5mm), Featuring: Thermatool 200Kw Model TMI 200
High Frequency Welder, Alpha Double Cut Cut-Off with Double Cut Die #SR-41, Series III,
Alpha Length Control System, Tooling.
2.5" Turek & Heller MDL #W20H Stainless Steel Tube Mill
OD Capacity: .625" – 2.5", Wall Thickness: .020" - .120", Consisting of: Littell Uncoiler with
4,000# Capacity, Tube Mill: Shaft Diameter: 2", 4 Breakdown Passes, 3 Finn Passes, 3
Sizing Passes, Bead Control, Cut-Off: 3 Blade Rotary, Tooling.
Mackintosh-Hemphill 6 Roll Straightener
Model: AN, 6 Roll Design, Capacity: ¾" – 4", Entry & Exit Tables, Eurotherm Digital Drives.
76mm (3") Diameter Mair Packaging Line
Year: 1990, Serial No. 1480, Entry Conveyor, Alignment Rolls, Tube Orientator, Complete
Line with Variable Speed DC Drives, Siemens PLC Controls.
4" Alpha Double Cut Cut-Off Model FR14
4" OD Single Cut Capacity, 3" OD Double Cut Capacity, 3" Beta Ram Double Cut Die Set
Included, Model Nick & Shear, Hydraulic Clutch Brake, Die Accelerator, Beta Ram Push
Button Panel, Tallyrand Length Control.
3" Diameter Loopco De-Dimpler
Model: H5-30, Rotary Plug Design, 1¾" – 3" Diameter Capacity, Maximum Length: 12'
(2) 4" Rafter Laser Welded Stainless Tube Mills with Bright Annealing
No. 2 Mill (Year 1998): Rafter Model RT-3000S-12, Laser Welded Tube Mill with Bright Annealing, OD Capacity 1.5" to 4", Wall Thickness:
.028" - .237", 1 Spare Set of Rafted Stands Shared between the 2 Mills, No. 5 Mill (Year 2005): Rafter Model RT-3000S-12 Laser Welded Tube
Mill with Bright Annealing, Featuring: 3.5" Shaft Diameter, Trumpf Trueflow 8 Kw Laser with new Resonator in 2007, Rofin-Sinar 6Kw Laser
Welder, Mandrel Bead Roller Reciprocating Type, Kuhn-Tec Opperman Bright Anneal Chamber, Hydrogen Atmosphere, AJAX Pacer-HF, 1200Kw
Annealer Power Supply Model H-2M060-CDEF, AJAX Pacer-HF, 500Kw Annealer Power Supply Model 45-1112-11-12, Tooling.
Galaxie Corporation
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