Oil!

Oil! is a novel by Upton Sinclair published in 1927 told as a third person narrative, with only the opening pages written in the second person. The book was written in the context of the Harding administration's Teapot Dome Scandal and takes place in Southern California. It is a social and political satire skewering the human foibles of all its characters.

The main character is James Arnold Ross Jr., nicknamed Bunny, son of an oil tycoon. Bunny's sympathetic feelings toward oilfield workers and socialists provoke arguments with his father throughout the story.

The novel served as a loose inspiration for the 2007 film There Will Be Blood.

Characters

Oil

An oil is any neutral, nonpolar chemical substance that is a viscous liquid at ambient temperatures and is both hydrophobic (immiscible with water, literally "water fearing") and lipophilic (miscible with other oils, literally "fat loving"). Oils have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are usually flammable and slippery.

The general definition of oil includes classes of chemical compounds that may be otherwise unrelated in structure, properties, and uses. Oils may be animal, vegetable, or petrochemical in origin, and may be volatile or non-volatile. They are used for food, fuel, lubrication, and the manufacture of paints, plastics, and other materials. Specially prepared oils are used in some religious ceremonies as purifying agents.

Etymology

First attested in English 1176, the word oil comes from Old French oile, from Latin oleum, which in turn comes from the Greek ἔλαιον (elaion), "olive oil, oil" and that from ἐλαία (elaia), "olive tree", "olive fruit". The earliest attested forms of the word are the Mycenaean Greek 𐀁𐀨𐀺, e-ra-wo and 𐀁𐁉𐀺, e-rai-wo, written in the Linear B syllabic script.

Oil (band)

Oil is a Christian thrash metal band from Long Beach, California, USA. The band was formed in 1997 by Ron Rinehart, the former vocalist with Dark Angel, who converted to Christianity at a Harvest Crusade after Dark Angel's dissolution in 1992. Other members include lead guitarist Blake Nelson (formerly with Deceiver, Desire and Captain Black) and drummer Jason Vander Pal. Oil has released two studio albums and one live album.

In 2004, Rinehart left the band to pursue other non-musical interests. The rest of the group is looking for a new vocalist.

Biography

Oil's first release was a self-financed EP in 1999.

The Refine album was well-reviewed for its honest, no frills metal approach. The band performed live gigs, including a show at the Stryper Expo, but Rinehart received an injury soon after the album release which meant Oil did not perform for nearly a year. Once recovered, Rinehart and Oil returned to performing, being announced as special guests to Disciple in April.

The band recorded a live album Choice Cuts Off the Chopping Block at the First Baptist Church in Downey, California, in November 2002. The record included two new acoustic songs, "This Is My Prayer" and "Medicine Man". When bass guitarist Matthew Joy opted out in May 2003, Oil recruited Jonathan Thiemens of Blind Sacrificies as a temporary replacement. This became permanent in July.

Oil platform

An oil platform, offshore platform, or (colloquially) oil rig is a large structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, or to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing. In many cases, the platform contains facilities to house the workforce as well.

Depending on the circumstances, the platform may be fixed to the ocean floor, may consist of an artificial island, or may float. Remote subsea wells may also be connected to a platform by flow lines and by umbilical connections. These subsea solutions may consist of one or more subsea wells, or of one or more manifold centres for multiple wells.

History

Around 1891, the first submerged oil wells were drilled from platforms built on piles in the fresh waters of the Grand Lake St. Marys (a.k.a. Mercer County Reservoir) in Ohio. The wide but shallow reservoir was built from 1837 to 1845 to provide water to the Miami and Erie Canal.

Around 1896, the first submerged oil wells in salt water were drilled in the portion of the Summerland field extending under the Santa Barbara Channel in California. The wells were drilled from piers extending from land out into the channel.