pumpjacks
Bobbing oil machines
Pumpjacks are the mechanical devices used to extract oil from underground wells, recognizable by their distinctive rocking motion—a counterweighted beam pivoting up and down like a drinking bird.
They dot oil-producing landscapes across Texas, Oklahoma, and other petroleum regions.
Also called nodding donkeys, horsehead pumps, or beam pumps: Pumpjacks lined the horizon as far as we could see.
Underground hydrocarbon reserve area
- wellheadSurface opening of bore
- petroleumNatural underground hydrocarbon liquid
- crudeUnpolished, raw state
- productionMaking or generating something
reservoir · derrick · drilling · horsehead · crank · downhole · tubing · casing
Commercial extraction of crude
- fossil fuelEnergy from decomposed organisms
- energyPower to do work
- wealthAbundance of valuable resources
- boomLoud deep sound
black gold · petrodollar · wildcatter · American West · prosperity · carbon · environmental impact · industrialization
Second-largest American state
- prairieOpen grassy flatland
- silhouetteFilled-in outline shape
- horizonApparent earth-sky meeting
- dustyCoated with fine particles
rural · roadside · Oklahoma · Alberta · flatland · sunset · iconic · grassland
Moving back and forth
- counterweightBalancing mass in machinery
- prime moverPower source or initiator
- gearboxEnclosed system of cogs
- electric motorConverts current to motion
crankshaft · bearing · horsepower · RPM · torque · fulcrum · mechanical advantage · lubrication
oilfield
Underground hydrocarbon reserve area
- wellheadSurface opening of bore
- petroleumNatural underground hydrocarbon liquid
- crudeUnpolished, raw state
production · reservoir · derrick · drilling · horsehead · crank · downhole · tubing · casing · barrel
oil industry
Commercial extraction of crude
- fossil fuelEnergy from decomposed organisms
- energyPower to do work
- wealthAbundance of valuable resources
boom · black gold · petrodollar · wildcatter · American West · prosperity · carbon · environmental impact · industrialization · resource curse
Texas
Second-largest American state
- prairieOpen grassy flatland
- silhouetteFilled-in outline shape
- horizonApparent earth-sky meeting
dusty · rural · roadside · Oklahoma · Alberta · flatland · sunset · iconic · grassland · fenceline
reciprocating
Moving back and forth
- counterweightBalancing mass in machinery
- prime moverPower source or initiator
- gearboxEnclosed system of cogs
electric motor · crankshaft · bearing · horsepower · RPM · torque · fulcrum · mechanical advantage · lubrication · belt drive
- petroleumcrude oil, crude, petroleum, oil wells, oil fields
- oilfieldscrude oil, drilling rigs, oil wells, fracking, hydraulic fracturing
- Permian BasinOdessa, oil fields, oil wells, oil rigs, drilling rigs
- prairiesprairies, prairie grass, grasslands, grassland, tallgrass
pumpjackswind turbines
Machines converting air movement to electricity
solar panels · geothermal plants · wind farms · solar arrays · nuclear reactors