During the summer 2014 semester, students from CH EN 6171 participated in a two week, three credit hour field study that toured 14 facilities to learn about oil and gas operations in Utah and Wyoming. The goal was first hand exposure to oil and gas operations in Utah and Wyoming. The first stop was ConocoPhillips’ Drunkards Wash gas field near Price, UT. ConocoPhillips is an integrated E&P company that has been a strong member of Utah’s energy industry that has been operating a majority stake for over a decade in Utah’s largest producing gas field. 
ConocoPhillips owns and operates the Drunkards Wash field, which entered production in 1991. This field produces from Ferron coals, which consist of two deep, unmineable coal seams in the Price area. To date, the Drunkards Wash field has produced over over 840 BCF from more than 550 wells. After a safety orientation, the ConocoPhillips team that oversees the Drunkards Wash Unit generously toured the field study students, providing a detailed overview of the field, its geology and history, through production and several types of artificial lift in use at Drunkards Wash. Students then received an overview of the field SCADA system followed by an overview of the initial processing the gas receives before its delivery to downstream users. Over the course of the field study, students encountered a diverse range of petroleum-related operations. These encompassed E&P operations, midstream and downstream facilities, as well as end-use applications. Students also met with service providers and recruiters. The Department of Chemical Engineering was fortunate to work with many of Utah and Wyoming’s key energy companies; including ConocoPhillips, XTO, Savage Energy Services, Fidelity, Resolute, Wolverine, PacifiCorp, Utah Geologic Survey, Tesoro, Newfield, Crescent Point, Red Leaf, U.S. Oil Sands, Halliburton, Questar, and ExxonMobil. Each organization’s willingness to showcase their work and their facilities offered our students a unique opportunity to understand the full life-cycle of hydrocarbon commodities and highlighted potential career paths.
