I hear and I forget, I do and I understand, I see and I remember
A look at the nomadic lifestyle in Arabia
I am honored to have my work about the Bedu of Arabia featured in the current issue of ETHMED online magazine. The values of this traditional and ancient way of life have persisted for over five thousand years and have adapted to modern life in the 21st century.
It was one of the highest honors of my life to be accepted by the clans of the Al Amrah and Al Erq of the Al Murrah tribes to live with them and document their way of life. From 1980 to the present I continue to maintain a relationship with the clans and learn so much about respect, honor, relationships, loyalty, survival, and adaptation a few of the values that define nomadic life among the Bedu of Arabia.
Gathering at the wedding of Mohammed Alerq. Social protocol demands that everyone sit in a circle. Dahna Sands, Saudi Arabia
What it looks like to replace Russian oil and gas.
Internal view of a furnace used to “crack” heat crude oil in the refining process.
Turning away from the use of oil and gas from Russia can be accomplished. What is needed includes; finding other supply sources, building new receiving ports, retrofitting existing refineries, expanding production, marshaling major engineering capacity, major capital investment, and time. Putting in place what is needed cannot happen in a few months. It will take a year for the quick changes and a number of years for a major realignment.
Understanding the petroleum industry by reading about it with all its unique jargon: “upstream-downstream,” Fluid Catalytic Cracking, Floating Production Storage and Offloading, Crude Assay, Sweet and Sour Crude Oil, etc., quickly becomes confusing.
Images offer the possibility of getting our minds around what these words mean and how the energy industry works. So I’ve compiled a set of pictures showing what’s involved in the supply chain of oil and gas worldwide in order to understand what the challenges and costs are in creating an alternative to dependence on Russian oil and gas.
Finding the oil and gas.
Locating sources of oil and gas is an industry unto itself and requires significant investment, risk, and commitment of time.
A geologist working on exploration of oil and gas, KuwaitSonar imaging of oil sources, Gulf of Mexico
Crude Oil Exploration
More often than not, places, where crude oil is found, are deserts and oceans. Advanced technology today helps reduce some of the risks by quantifying possible amounts of oil and gas at specific locations. The exploration process still comes down to drilling a hole in the earth, often thousands of feet, to reach a crude oil or natural gas source. The drilling rigs on land and offshore are an industry unto themselves and include names like Schlumberger, Valaris, Halliburton, Baker Hughes, Nabors, China Oilfield Services Limited, and Petrofac, to name a few.
Crude Oil Drilling Rig, KuwaitDrilling rigs North Sea, Scotland Offshore drilling rig, Gulf of Mexico
Roughnecks, Louisiana
Roughnecks, on land drilling rig, KazakhstanCrude oil pump, Saudi Arabia Offshore drilling rig, Persian Gulf Offshore crude oil drilling rig being built for exploration in the Caspian Sea, Baku, Azerbaijan.
All in One Operations
Then there are “all in one” exploration drilling, processing, and shipping operations like the Tension leg platform, Floating Production Storage, and Offloading operation at Kizomba, Angola. Basically, these operations drill for crude oil, process it onsite then load it onto supertankers at the offshore location. Off the supertanker goes to deliver oil to a client.
Drilling rig on the left, Floating Production Storage for processing crude oil and a supertanker being filled up. Kizomba, Angola.
Shipping and Storage
Crude oil must be moved from its source to refineries where it can be processed into usable products like gasoline and diesel.
Supertanker offshore waiting to unload crude oil at a refinery in Kuwait for processing into petroleum products.
Storage operation in Saint Lucia for unloading some of the largest supertankers which require deepwater ports. The crude oil is stored, then transferred to ships that can enter the port at a refinery in St. Croix.
Tankers offloading crude oil and loading refined petroleum products at a refinery in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.
Processing crude oil into petroleum products; gas and diesel.
Turning crude oil into usable products like gasoline and diesel fuel is done at refineries like this one in St. Croix.
Construction of an LNG Train for converting natural gas into Liquefied Natural Gas, Ras Laffan, Qatar.
LNG refinery: Ras Laffan, Qatar. The plant converts natural gas into Liquified Natural Gas called LNG. The process uses three steps, gas treatment, gas compression, and refrigeration. LNG from Qatar could possibly become a source for Europe to replace the LNG they import from Russia.
An LNG pipeline connecting the Ras Laffan refinery to the port where special ships for transporting LNG take the gas and deliver it to customers worldwide. The LNG port at Ras Laffan, Qatar. A tanker designed specifically for transporting liquified natural gas.
Trains and Pipelines
Other methods used to transport crude oil and petroleum products include trains and pipelines.
Rail tanks are used to transport crude oil and processed petroleum products. Sarpom shipping yard, Trecate, Italy.
A train transporting gas from the Tengiz Refinery in Kazakhstan.
Oil Pipeline, northeastern Saudi Arabia near the Iraqi border
Crude oil pipeline, Kuwait.
A primary source of fact and insight about world energy can be found in the writings of Dr. Daniel Yergin, who is an American energy expert, economic historian, speaker, author, and Pulitzer Prize, winner. His most recent book, The New Map, is a timely read about geopolitics, the global economy, and energy. To learn more visit https://www.DanielYergin.com
Balancing energy needs for the short term and long term
Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the world was engaged in an existential struggle: how to deal with the accelerating negative impact of climate change. Countries are still in a struggle with each other about how best to shift from fossil fuels to clean, sustainable energy. The urgency to find alternatives to oil and gas from Russia must simultaneously be met with concrete actions by countries worldwide to respond to climate change. The world order is under threat as a result of Russia’s war, and the catastrophic effects of climate change threaten life in our home, the earth. The challenge is whether we choose law over force to respond to Russia’s invasion. We also have a challenge of consciousness. Can we acknowledge our interdependence and work for the common good?
Electricity Solar Water Wind
Text and Images by Wayne Eastep
To see more images visit the energy collection at my website WayneEastep.com
The moon sits like a silent eye in the sky observing the earth.
Its phases serve as markers of time.
The lunar eclipse reminds us in dramatic and beautiful ways that there are three of us sharing the heavens; the sun, moon, and earth.
The physical phases of the moon; new, full, waxing, waning, bright, dark, rising, and sitting all serve as visual poetry about life as seen in the cycles of the moon. The reappearance of the moon every night is a reminder about the passage of time and while each day things change there is reassurance in the constancy of the moon.
Partial Lunar Eclipse of the Full Moon November 19, 2021, as seen from Sarasota, Florida, rendered in Black and White. “Blood Moon” of the Partial Lunar Eclipse November 19, 2021Full Moon November 19, 2021 also known as the “beaver moon” and “blood moon”. Observed from Sarasota, Florida.
“The Moon is a white strange world, great, white, soft-seeming globe in the night sky, and what she actually communicates to me across space I shall never fully know. But the Moon that pulls the tides, and the Moon that controls the menstrual periods of women, and the Moon that touches the lunatics, she is not the mere dead lump of the astronomist…. When we describe the Moon as dead, we are describing the deadness in ourselves. When we find space so hideously void, we are describing our own unbearable emptiness.” D.H. Lawrence, Phoenix: The Posthumous Papers of D.H. Lawrence. pt.4, 1930
Phases of the full moon during a partial lunar eclipse November 19, 2021.
To discuss your needs for sizes, materials and framing contact me at: WayneEastep@gmail.com.
You can select configurations and see the framed print within various rooms at my online storefront: Eastep store
See a full selection of images from this series on my website: WayneEastep.com
“Blood Moon” during the partial lunar eclipse. Partial lunar eclipse, black and white print.
The area of Sagano Japan has a remarkably beautiful calm and peaceful bamboo grove. There is wonderful sound when the wind blows through the bamboo causing it to knock together. Put that together with the sound of rain and your ready for a peaceful nights rest.
Bamboo grove, Sagano, JapanBring some calm into your lifeGiant bamboo in a grove, Sagano JapanDaydream your afternoon away. Perhaps one of the best things you can do for yourself.
Time and life’s conditions bring about change. This cedar tree with the markings of wind, rain and snow, deep cold and searing sun shows us that beauty and grace remain even though the cedars stately and grand posture has passed.
This mission church is one of the oldest churches in America dedicated to San Francisco de Asis. It is an outstanding example of adobe mission architecture. Constructed between 1813 & 1815. Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico.
The clean lines and earthen materials make it a kindered spirit to modern architecture from the Sarasota School of Architecture. They both integrate the outdoor environment with the architecture using simple materials and clean lines in the design.
Spiral staircase, Shaker Village, Pleasant Hill, Kentucky
Spiral cherry wood staircase, one of a twin. Designed by Michajah Burnett for the Trustee’s house at the Shaker Village, Pleasant Hill, Kentucky.
I was commissioned by Nikon to use all their lenses to show each to it’s full creative and technical performance. The 8mm fisheye lens proved to be a challenge because it drew so much attention to the technical characteristic of the circular format. I felt it easily took away from the engaging aesthetics of the subject. That all changed when I came upon this magnificent spiral cherry wood staircase. There was a match between the way the concept of the spiral was formed within the staircase and the format of the fisheye lens. This image is the result.
The image is part of a collection of images I’ve curated illustrating my signature style.
2020 ended with a full moon. It joins the sun in giving us a celestial presence that is reassuring, and god knows we can use some reassurance about now.
Natue is always a reliable source to turn to for orientation. So look up, look around, you might find what you’re looking for.
Sun viewed above the Gulf of Mexico, Sarasota, Florida
2021 started as it did the day before and as it will tomorrow, with the sun in the sky bringing light, energy and warmth, The presence of the sun offers us stability, continuity, and certainty. That’s good. I’ll take it.
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