The LCCTC Eagle: "Little Billy": Oil and Gas Builds a Rig ~ Emily Granata

“When it comes to oil and gas, we don't do little.” ~ Jay Parsons, Oil and Gas instructor

On Friday, May 4th, Lawrence County CTC’s Oil and Gas shop was recognized for their ground-breaking work for constructing an oil rig, the only operational rig in America built by students!

They decided to name the rig, “Little Billy,” after Billy Smith, an experienced saltwater driller from Tarentum, PA who helped build and operate the first oil rig in 1891.

Perched atop the rig is an American flag from the United States Capitol Building making the entire structure an impressive 43’ 6” tall.

Lawrence County CTC was happy to invite many faces from different companies, as well as parents, and even our own State Representative Chris Sainato and Senator Elder Vogel to recognize this masterpiece.

Representative Chris Sainato remarked, “ This is such a great
experience! To see these students out here participating
and working hard is amazing. LCCTC is far ahead!”

An impressive sight, there were many positive comments regarding the rig. “I’m so glad these industries are joining us to see how well these students have done,” grinned Mr. Parsons. “These kids deserve all the praise they can get.”

As the afternoon sun glared in the sky, even the students were abuzz: “I’m really excited to show off our work, but I’m also nervous to meet all these important people” said Emily Miller, a New Castle sophomore.

“It brings really good publicity to our school,” said Nick Neupauer, an Ellwood City sophomore, “and I love to show the community that we can do great things.”

Jake Matheney, an Ellwood City junior stated, “I’m excited
because we finally finished it! Constructing the rig
was tiring but worth it.”

As representatives from the Oil and Gas industry milled within the crowd, they were able to provide their perspective on the event. Michael Forgione, a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition technician from Hilcorp, said “No one has come close to what you guys are doing, what a great job!” He also added that when these kids are ready for graduation, he’s ready to sign them on.

The parents were so ecstatic to be there watching their kids show off; they had big smiles on their faces. “It's amazing,” comments Larry Morini Sr. “What a great job; I'm proud of my son, Larry Jr., and his friends.”

“I know they all worked hard for this day and it's such a great accomplishment," beamed Michael Neupauer.

Michael's son, Nick, notes that his favorite part was assembling
the crown of the rig. "At first, I didn't care for being in high places,
but with this experience -- learning how to safely climb the rig,
I have learned to pretty much just get over it. It's what I'll be doing
when I graduate, so I'd better learn now!"

Before the students got to show off their work Bryan Hazelwood, a Chief Pilot from Civil Environmental Services talked to everyone about the drone they were flying to view the rig. The drone itself costs $100,000! To protect the workers and the environment, these drones are used to detect methane gas through a thermal camera; from there they form a typography map.

“You guys are doing the right thing. What a
great job!” ~ Mr. Milanovich

LCCTC would like to thank Hilcorp, Columbia Midstream of TransCanada, PIOGA, and CEC Drones for their all of their support of this program.

Even without knowing this year’s SkillsUSA theme, Daniel Weaver, a contractor for companies and representative from PIOGA, understands our end-goal. He reflected that “These kids are definitely ‘job-ready’!”