Here are a few pages of links concerning oil drilling, refining, marketing etc. that I found after a perfunctory search. The best way to sort the wheat from the chaff is to seek out and learn some of the basics of the field. These are all multiple link pages, many hours of research are here for anyone with the inclination or the time. I am too busy with other things to devote much time to it.

One page concerns contaminants in fuel, this is interesting in light of the avgas contamination problem in Australia, although that may have been a furphy. Another interesting observation is that there seems to be a lot of new oil refining software on the market. If oil is like any other modern technology, software based methods are replacing older types of technology, perhaps some followup will shed light on embedded chips or what have you.

Sorry to make you cut and paste, but I am a slow typist. The ease with which I found theses indicates that there must be literally hundreds if not thousands of sites on this subject. I will at least check out how a refinery works because I am curious.

http://oilworld.com/oglink.htm

http://sg.yahoo.com/Science/Engineering/Petroleum_Engineering

http://www.nmt.edu/~nmtlib/subject/petrol.html

http://www.netaccess.on.ca/~dbc/cic_hamilton/fuel.html

http://www.blm.gov/eso/mdo/pages/fluids/oillinks.html

http://asloley.home.mindspring.com/lnk00001.html

http://www.uic.edu/~mansoori/Heavy.Organics.Related.Sites

http://dmoz.org/Business/Industries/Energy/Oil_and_Gas/

-- Forrest Covington (theforrest@mindspring.com), January 24, 2000

Answers

You missed the link to RC's web site.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), January 24, 2000.

Please - what is a furphy?

-- pramada (pram108@yahoo.com), January 24, 2000.

From Webster's Dictionary:

furphy, from Furphy Carts, water and sanitation carts used during WW I in Australia, from the Furphy Manufacturing Company, Shepparton, Victoria, Australia. Slang: A false report, a rumor.

I have coined another: A boo-booyap (TM) is a person who spreads furphys (furphies?)

-- Forrest Covington (theforrest@mindspring.com), January 24, 2000.

In World War 1 containers for sanitary purposes were supplied to Australian military camps by the firm of Furphy and Co., whose name appeared on all their products. Hence a 'furphy' was a latrine rumour or a report of doubtful reliability.
Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable

In other words "something which is a crockfull of s**t"

Regards from Down Under aka 'furphy land' :o)

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 24, 2000.

G'Day mates,

Oi! I juz wanna tell youse grouse Septics that us blokes down under 'ere are all right fair dinkum blokes, straight as a die and never spread a furphy, but we've been known to gild the lilly, throw a raw prawn on the odd barbie and pull an occasional chain.

Signed 'true blue'

(a guest lurker at zaadz's)

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 24, 2000.

Andy, do you have the link to RC's site? I am sincerely interested in his theories from what I have heard described here.

-- JoseMiami (caris@prodigy.net), January 24, 2000.

Forrest,

Those are some good links that you posted. Thanks for listing them. =)

-- Dee (T1Colt556@aol.com), January 24, 2000.

Sorry JoseMiami I was being sarcastic as Forrest has been having so much fun trashing and causing pain to RC.

-- Andy (2000EOD@prodigy.net), January 24, 2000.

Pieter - I always called them dunnies.

-- Laurane (familyties@rttinc.com), January 24, 2000.

Pieter --

You're bilingual!!! Please post more in Auspeak.

>"<

-- Squirrel Hunter (nuts@upinat.ree), January 24, 2000.

Well well, Squirrel Nobbler,

Good grief! I just reckoned on having another squizzie at this here thread to eyeball the goings-on across the big pond in the 'land-of-the-free'. Thanks for the thumbs up regarding our Australian strine lingo that is so much easier than your rap-n- jive.

Would I tell a furphy if a whiff of BS enters the fray? Eh but?

G'Day Laurane,

Our long drop dunnies can be 1 holers or 2 holers for socialable types. We curse the great unwashed by 'wishing an emu will come and kick your dunnie down', but I'm Presbyterian so will wash my mouth out right away. No furphies please!

Regards from OZ

-- Pieter (zaadz@icisp.net.au), January 24, 2000.