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“No, a lot of the oil captured here actually gets transported out via the Dakota Access Pipeline, which is a lot cheaper than trucking it to a train. But that pipeline is filling up fast, so they’re building another one.”
Jamison said, “And this is one of Stuart McClellan’s operations?”
“That’s right.”
Decker said, “The Air Force station is close to here. And the Brothers’ Colony.”
“Yep. McClellan’s rigs are the only ones hereabouts except for one company also located near the Air Force station.”
“What about all the gas flares?” said Jamison. “Isn’t that wasteful?”
“It is,” conceded Baker. “But there aren’t enough pipelines here to transport the gas. And even if there were, the gas up here has a high percentage of hydrocarbons. Pipeline operators hate that because it can clog the pipe.”
“What’s the solution?” asked Decker.
“They’re coming up with a technology to separate the methane from the hydrocarbons right onsite.”
“Do any problems come up with fracking?” asked Decker.
He nodded. “Something called a ‘screen-out’ is fairly common. That happens when the sand plugs up the perforations. The pump automatically shuts down when that happens because the PSI spikes and the warning bells go off.”
“What do you do to fix it?” asked Jamison.
“We open the well and force up lots of barrels of fluid that we just sent down to clean up the blockage. If there are more serious issues, like a well needs some type of invasive intervention because it’s deteriorating, equipment has corroded, or the reservoir conditions have changed, then we call in a workover rig. They’ll drop in a wireline to lower both measurement and testing equipment to see what the issue is and arrive at a solution. They can usually find an answer and get it back online.”
Decker looked impressed. “And here I always thought you were just a guy digging holes with a shovel.”
Baker grinned. “Well, I did my share of that too, back in the old days. Now it’s all technology and science and engineering. But, hey, I’ll take working inside a trailer with my own toilet and AC in the summer and heat in the winter any day.”
“Quite the operation,” noted Jamison.
“How long do you see yourself here, Stan?” asked Decker.
“Long enough to save up what I need to retire and to help out the kids and their education. Then I’m heading to Florida, chucking my cell phone into the ocean, and I’m going fishing. And I’m not going to stop till I croak.”
“Now, tell me what you remember about this guy who talked about the time bomb,” said Decker. “His name was Ben?”
“Yeah, least that’s what he said.”
“Last name?”
Baker rubbed his face and sat back in his chair. “I’m not sure. It was over a year ago and there were a lot of people around and I’d been drinking.”
“And you’re sure he was in the Air Force?”
“Yeah, he was in his official cammies and he told me he was assigned there.”
Decker said, “What if we can show you pictures of people who worked there? Would that help?”
“It might, yeah. But how are you going to do that? I was in the military. They don’t like giving out info to nobody.”
Decker glanced at Jamison. “We’ll think of something.”
“HOWAREWE GOINGto get Colonel Sumter to give up his list of personnel?” said Jamison on the drive back. “He hasn’t even gotten back to Kelly on his earlier request. And I don’t see us getting a search warrant. We have no probable cause. And on top of that, this Ben guy was military; he’s not there anymore anyway. It’s all Vector personnel now.”
“So let’s dial up some help.” Decker pulled out the device Robie had given him.
“What’s that?” she asked.
