The oil and gas industry in the United States is a complex mix of science, technology and economics. It is generally divided into two broad sectors, referred to as upstream and downstream. Upstream refers to the exploration and production of the raw material, crude oil, while the downstream sector refers to the refining, processing, transporting, distributing and marketing of that raw material.
Exploration and production, or E&P, includes locating underground petroleum reservoirs. These are formations deep within the earth that contain crude oil and naturally occurring gasses. They are sometimes referred to as traps. Once these reservoirs are found then it must be extracted.
The petroleum reservoirs are located using a couple of different methods: geological surveys and seismic surveys. The former involves collecting and analyzing rock samples in an area, and identifying those features of the samples that indicate the presence of an oil field. The latter method involving bouncing sound waves off of subsurface materials and measuring how much time it takes for the waves to be picked up by geophones. Scientists are able to use them to create images of the subsurface rock to identify the presence of petroleum reservoirs.
These methods are used in the exploration phase, which includes the drilling of exploratory wells to confirm the presence of a reservoir. Once they are then the raw material must be extracted. Oil wells are most often drilled using a rotary rig, and the crude oil is recovered through primary, secondary, and tertiary techniques. The extracted raw material goes to a field separator, and its components – gas, oil and water – are separated.
It is all a highly complex process, but one that the world has come to rely on. Charles Perrin is the owner of Rockford Energy Partners, LLC, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company engaged in the acquisition, exploitation and drilling of oil and gas properties.
Sources:
http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=5434547
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140610195219-160381676-understanding-the-basics-about-the-oil-and-gas-industry
Exploration and production, or E&P, includes locating underground petroleum reservoirs. These are formations deep within the earth that contain crude oil and naturally occurring gasses. They are sometimes referred to as traps. Once these reservoirs are found then it must be extracted.
The petroleum reservoirs are located using a couple of different methods: geological surveys and seismic surveys. The former involves collecting and analyzing rock samples in an area, and identifying those features of the samples that indicate the presence of an oil field. The latter method involving bouncing sound waves off of subsurface materials and measuring how much time it takes for the waves to be picked up by geophones. Scientists are able to use them to create images of the subsurface rock to identify the presence of petroleum reservoirs.
These methods are used in the exploration phase, which includes the drilling of exploratory wells to confirm the presence of a reservoir. Once they are then the raw material must be extracted. Oil wells are most often drilled using a rotary rig, and the crude oil is recovered through primary, secondary, and tertiary techniques. The extracted raw material goes to a field separator, and its components – gas, oil and water – are separated.
It is all a highly complex process, but one that the world has come to rely on. Charles Perrin is the owner of Rockford Energy Partners, LLC, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company engaged in the acquisition, exploitation and drilling of oil and gas properties.
Sources:
http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=5434547
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20140610195219-160381676-understanding-the-basics-about-the-oil-and-gas-industry