World Oil

By Gary Crummer

Gary Crummer shows how the world of construction of huge oil refineries has a diverse number of people all having different and wide personalities and character traits. With this range of people and the hunger for money, it can and does cause people to do things, they might not do if they were not in the situations that present themselves. With

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gary Crummer
• Release date: Jan 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9781962502054

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WORLD OIL

Copyright © 2024 Gary Crummer.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Priors Press

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in the work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

ISBN 978-1-962502-04-7 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-962502-05-4 (Ebook)

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Synopsis

• One •

• Two •

• Three •

• Four •

• Five •

• Six •

• Seven •

• Nine •

• Ten •

• Eleven •

• Twelve •

• Thirteen •

• Fourteen •

• Fifteen •

• Sixteen •

• Seventeen •

• Eighteen •

• Nineteen •

• Twenty •

• Twenty One •

SYNOPSIS

This book is about corrupt employees working in a huge oil plant expansion. Many of the management officials from one of the companies plotted a scheme to siphon millions of dollars from a phony disability insurance scheme. A new employee of the company stumbles on to the scheme and inadvertently becomes involved in it. The ensuing weeks led him deeper into uncovering the scheme. The accidental findings then led him and people around him into murder and chaos trying to uncover and report the scheme to authori ties.

My motivation to write the book was the fact that I have always wanted to write a book and admired the people who have made it a career. So my involvement in the world of construction of such huge oil facilities and the effects it has on communities and people that are involved in the building of the plants made it a project that I wanted to accomplish in my life.

My background has been in the world of construction from the time I left high school. This background and the working knowledge of construction led me to want to tell a small bit about the world that I have become a custom to. The truths are written in the book about a small town and what can happen to it when inundated by massive amounts of people to build the giants of today’s oil hungry world. These effects although exaggerated by the facts of murder and espionage in the book are real to any small town in which oil or other resources are developed. The very fuel that is needed to exist also causes the greed for money. This is not just for the men that follow the construction booms, but also for the huge companies that produce the end product. The toll it takes on families and their lives are what I tried to bring to the people that have not experienced the life of a construction worker. The long periods away from home and the effects it has on the families of the workers. For the ones who can weather the tireless hours and endurance to work in harsh conditions there is a reward of monetary gain. But all too often it is at the cost of broken families, alcohol and drug addiction and loneliness, for the worker and for the family of the worker.

I envision the book to target the families of people involved in the business of construction and to the people that are interested in the happenings of the world around them. The language depicted in the book at times is commonplace in the construction world and should not be taken as offensive but as just a fact of realism in the world I have depicted.

• ONE •

My first day was proving uneventful so far as this new job had many rules to learn it seemed. Since the first thing this morning when I got here, I was taking a safety course. It seemed long and boring and mostly common-sense stuff. There was the usual gather of riff raff, scattering of multi racial people and a few women all crammed in an overheated room. Seems that these things are always put in a room with poor ventilation and heating controls. I guess it’s a test, if you can stay awake through the boredom, stuffiness and heat, you can do anyt hing!

My job here at the New refinery expansion complex, World Oil was destine to be very exciting. I was to be a construction watchdog (so to speak). I would have access to anywhere in the refinery and help break down any barriers between construction companies, the owners, engineers and others involved in the building of a complex project. The cost of this project was to be twelve billion dollars, a staggering amount and one that would sure to climb given the economy and work picture. There was a shortage of skilled workers in the country and to accomplish anything overtime was being worked and huge dollars were being paid in wages. Construction workers working all the overtime and regular time were making more than the local doctor was on a year basis right now. Not to say they didn’t deserve it, being away from home, staying in camps and working very long tiring hours.

Divorce seemed to be running rampant. With men being away from home for long periods of time, and wives being tired of raising kids on their own, and not having any companionship at nights. It took an understanding women to stay with their man and appreciate what he was going through being away from home to make a good living for his family. For the understanding couples there was a good life for them ahead and lots of money to do and afford things they wanted to.

On the other side of the coin there were a lot of the unscrupulous guys working away from home looking for affairs, one night stands or drinking and gambling away more money than they were bring home.

Many stayed in the camp provided by the Oil company but that wasn’t the greatest, eating food prepared in mass quantity in institutional style, seeing the same few guys you knew and worked with for every hour of the day except for when you were sleeping. Then when work and supper were over there was the choice of going to your six foot by ten foot room and sit by yourself in loneliness or go to someone else’s room and drink or par take in smoking illicit drugs which were banned from camps but still very readily available. That was most about five of the stories anyway. The rest of the five to seven thousand employees would stay in the small town about twenty five miles from the World Oil site. Here over priced hotels, motels and rental accommodation could be found. The town had about fifty thousand full time residents and about twenty thousand that were directly or indirectly related to the work at World Oil. The local and Federal governments had forgotten about this town. It was in a very remote part of the country and with everything being overpriced even the government didn’t want to re-invest in this so-called inhabited wasteland. They just wanted to reap the benefits from the Oil production and collect royalties.

I was to stay in town and had a brief chance to look around and found a small place in the basement of one of the local residents. The cost was about four times what a normal place would be in the big city. But if I didn’t want to pay it there were ten in line behind me who would just to get a chance to work in this town and reap some of the benefits of the Oil plant.

The town itself was very dirty with transients not caring what it looked like as they only lived there for a short time. Most Oil workers had no care for this town and only regarded it as a hole to live in. The people who lived here year round and were career employees at World Oil didn’t have much regard for the construction worker either. They were known as Pigs.

Local establishments such as eateries and bars were always packed with the industry workers. A few places were hang- outs for the locals. The town being so far off the beaten track and with so much money still had an amazing number of transients and homeless. Also there were a number of people who worked here who were hiding from life, from past experiences, criminal elements, ex wives/husbands types that were just people you wouldn’t call your friend in a lot of cases.

• TWO •

Late in the afternoon the extreme boredom of the first day sign on ended. I was now to join my fellow workers in my new office and start work. Throughout he rest of the day I am sure I would meet my boss get a tour of the huge facility and meet many people who I would no doubt work with at some time down the road.

The first person I met was my boss, he came to pick me up and get me to my new digs. He was an older gentleman, I would say about fifty-five, balding, clean-shaven with the smell of Old Spice. A sign from the time he grew up in I was sure.

He took me to the office first where I met an array of co-workers.So many in fact I remember only two right now. One was the receptionist, and she certainly was easy on the eyes. I am sure there are stories to come on her I thought to myself. The second was a rather ignorant young man who just gave the impression that he thought he was special. Typical for a guy his age, who had a position with a bit of power. And this was becoming relevant in the younger worker in these times of worker shortages. He was about twenty four years old I guess. Had a piercing through each eyebrow, very short hair dyed a sort of red and blonde and black color all at once. His left ear had at least ten earrings surrounding his outer ear but I couldn’t get an accurate count, as I would have to stare to do it. He was about six feet tall and very skinny, almost to a point of underfed. I got a bad first impression because as I stepped into the office and was introduced. He sort of looked the other way and grunted something rather than extend a hand to shake. His name was Brian.

I followed my boss, Cody into his office and proceeded to hear all about him. He was rather full of himself citing all his past accomplishments at places he had worked around the world. He was originally from Britain but now made his home in Australia. He was indeed a long way from that here in Talsberg.

My mind seemed to wonder back to the receptionist as I heard her voice in the background. I asked Cody a question about her. How long has Peggy worked here I said. He smiled and replied that she was there since the beginning of the project. Almost 1 year now. You would be best to keep your eyes and hands to yourself Cody said. Don’t worry I will. I wouldn’t get my honey where I make my money I jokingly said.

Next on the agenda for the first day would be a tour of the complex. Cody got on the phone and called someone named Travis to come and get me. Cody told me to make myself at home, take a tour around the office introduce myself and have a coffee while I waited on Travis.

I walked down the hall looking at all the posters and pictures of the plant and of safety. Many slogans were depicting the safety and the value of it to World Oil. A few were of some cartoon characters missing a limb with a silly catchy phrase, the others very blunt and to the point.

Pictures of the plant were that of work that had happened or three D type picture of what things were to look like when things were all done, some 3 years from today if all went well.

As I got near the end of the hallway it bottlenecked into a washroom facility where I would meet Mitch, a person that I would not forget and in the future his name would certainly trigger some rather chilling memories. He pushed by me rather quickly, as he needed to get to the washroom it would seem. He was wearing his company issued clothing and seemed to elude a feeling of importance as we met briefly.

I rounded the corner to run into Travis.

Mr. Speed? he questioned as he pushed his hand out in front of me to shake. I reached for his hand and he grabbed mine, seemingly to squeeze it with all his might as he said… Hello I’m Travis, you must be Mr. Speed.

Yes I said, but actually I would prefer if you were to call me by my first name. Thomas or Tom.

OK then ill call you Tom. Travis seemed very bubbly and friendly at first meeting. Come on Tom, I’ll show you around the plant.

We left the office abruptly and climbed into Travis’s truck just outside the back door of the office. Well Travis, How long have you been here? I asked. Came the reply almost before I finished the question.

Just past a year now, I was the third guy on the site.

"And your job here?’

I’m a liaison for World Oil. I conduct tours, show new comers around and explain how everything works here.

I see, I said.

Oh yes I have a degree in Chemical engineering and took a few public relation Courses. My Dad use to work for World Oil in Germany for ten years, and he spoke to Cody ‘cause he knew him, and got me a job here.

Good for you Travis.

The tour took us out to the back of the plant where all the pipelines came in from the producer of the crude oil that was refined here. Back through the refinery upgrading right to the point of exit where the finished gasoline product was shipped to all major point near the big city. It would take me some time to get use to where everything was I’m sure. This whirlwind tour was awe-inspiring but left me bewildered as to when I would get it all figured out. There were buildings too numerous to mention and nooks and crannies everywhere it seemed.

We rushed back to the office in time for me to find out it was time to go for the day and tomorrow would be my first day of work, so to speak. My office left fifteen minutes earlier than all the rest as to beat the mad rush and exit of cars and buses back to Talsberg.

• THREE •

A new day began in Talsberg with bright sunshine. Talsberg was an unusual place not only for its mix of transient and multinational and local nationalities but also its weather. The sun shone here for an amazing average of three hundred and thirteen days out of every year. This was a claim to fame for the town that they tried to exploit in advertising, however it was better know because of the industry and certainly didn’t make any ones top one hundred when looking for tourist destinat ions.

I was up bright and early and ready and actually excited about going to work. I had heard a lot about the drive and told you had to be somewhat of a race driver to navigate the curving dilapidated highway that led to World Oil refinery. The poor road conditions coupled with the enormous amount of traffic made Los Angeles morning traffic look like a leisurely Sunday afternoon drive. Well I was ready for anything, like any new employee ready to take on the world. The complacency of being in a place for a long period of time would not be in my demeanor for a long while yet.

Arriving twenty five minutes after leaving my abode in Talsberg I was ready to tackle meeting everyone else and accomplishing miracles, at least in my mind.

Walking in to the office the first person I saw was Cody. He was carrying back his morning coffee in what appeared to be an all day cup. It must have held a pot full. Morning pleasantries were exchanged and I proceeded to go to my office. A huge part of my Job here was to be involved in safety issues concerns and investigations. Every job related injury was investigated to find the cause and extend resolutions so it wouldn’t happen again. Of course some things no matter what you believe or teach are just un-preventable, however the message you try and get across is that every accident and injury is preventable. There was a stack of accident investigations on my desk waiting for review and it appeared they were also waiting for me to deal with them.

I began reading through them when barging into my office came Mitch. Unannounced and rather ignorant he asked if I had seen yesterday’s accident report and he was being asked to fire a man that was involved and he wanted me to do something about this. Why the hell should I fire anyone, the guy involved didn’t do a fucking thing to deserve being fired, he has a goddamn family at home, a wife, three kids: this is fucking bullshit. He exclaimed. Taken a bit