Industry Explained
Calgary and the oil patch: how a city became Canada's energy capital
From a Turner Valley gas well in 1914 to Leduc No. 1 and the oil sands: how a ranching town on the Bow River became the head office city of the oil patch.
Gas and Oil Expo: reports from the oil and gas show floor
Latest report · Drilling & Completions
Blowout preventers: rams, annulars and the stack
A tour of the blowout preventer stack from the annular down to the wellhead: what each ram does, how the accumulator closes them, and how a crew shuts in a kick.
Featured reports
Floor plan
Visitor checklist
Going to an energy trade show? Use the checklist to prepare, and come home with notes you can act on. More »
From the show floor
Pipelines & Midstream
Pipeline integrity: corrosion, cathodic protection and inspection
What wears a buried steel pipeline down and how operators keep ahead of it: coatings, cathodic protection, smart pigs, pressure tests, direct assessment and 811.
Careers & Training
Starting a career in oil and gas: entry routes, tickets and training
Field crews, trades and office roles each have their own way in. How people start in oil and gas: the jobs, the safety tickets, apprenticeships and courses.
Health, Safety & Environment
Finding methane leaks: how LDAR surveys and gas cameras work
Where methane escapes on oil and gas sites, how crews find it with gas cameras, sniffers and aircraft, and what US and Canadian rules ask operators to record.
Drilling & Completions
Hydraulic fracturing in stages: plug-and-perf, sand and flowback
How a horizontal well is fractured one stage at a time: plug-and-perf and sliding sleeves, the frac spread, fluid and sand, pressure watching and flowback.
Industry Explained
Inside a refinery: distillation, cracking and the product slate
What happens to a barrel of crude between the tank farm and the truck rack: distillation, cracking, coking, hydrotreating, reforming, alkylation and blending.
About Gas and Oil Expo
We write about the oil and gas industry the way a good trade show shows it: one hall at a time, with the equipment in front of you and someone on hand to explain it. Drilling and completions, heavy oil and the oil sands, natural gas and LNG, pipelines, safety and the careers that hold it together. Read more about the site.