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Showing posts from September, 2020

Why Oil and Gas Are Crucial for the Economy

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The fossil fuel industry impacts the economy, directly and indirectly. The health and wellbeing of the economy depend on the growth of the oil and gas industry. These naturally-occurring hydrocarbons don’t just keep the economic wheels running but crown the US as a global trade leader. According to EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook (STEO),  the United States has ascended the global rankings and surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia in crude oil production. Currently, the country is the leading oil producer in the world. This rank opens many gateways to profitable economic opportunities for US residents and offers political leverage to the country. To protect our status as the global leader, we need to keep drilling oil rigs  and producing oil and gas industry thriving. Oil is The Primary Energy Source In the World Oil and natural gas fulfill half of the world’s quota for energy requisites . Without oil production, 50% of the world would be steeped in darkness, and the economic engines would

All You Need To Know About Fracking

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Fracking is a hydraulic oil drilling technique used to extract oil and natural gas from underground reserves. The proponents of this technique suggest that it’s a clean and economical way to exploit energy resources. It's also much safer than conventional drilling equipment. Let’s dive into the details of fracking to understand how it works. How Does Fracking Work This method requires wells that are dug deep into the earth to reach oil and gas reserves. The primary technology that's used is hydraulic fracturing. This technique was founded in the 1940s and has successfully launched many oil rigs. Another technology used is horizontal drilling that was popularized after the 1990s. Once a well is dug perpendicularly to the earth's surface, up to 2 miles or 3.2 kilometres , it's covered with a cement or steel structure. This prevents leakage into other areas and contamination of groundwater resources. As soon as the depth reaches fuel reserves, the well turns on a 90-degree

How Will The Oil Industry Respond to Climate Change?

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  It can be argued that discovering fossil fuel reserves in the depths of the earth was the advent of modernization. Prior to that, the human race was just a civilization that could only preserve food and energy for the foreseeable future i.e. sundown. However, with the ability to convert fossil fuels into energy that can essentially power machines, we moved toward mechanization of the oil industry. Even though the dawn of development was a cause for celebration, over the centuries, it has cyclically led us to our doom. With commercial consumption of fuels on the rise, there are greenhouse effects on the ozone  which have led to climate change. This was the big C that was the talk on every news channel before COVID-19 happened. However, since we’re working on flattening the curve, it’s time for the oil industry to respond to climate change. Even though crude oil is literally the fuel for progress, environmentalists are pressurizing oil producers to answer the inevitable question of cli

The Economics of Oil Extraction

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  Even though there has been significant development of alternative energy sources, oil production is still a fundamental fuel for economic growth. However, oil reserves are limited, and the oil industry needs to progress at a sustainable rate to preserve this fossil fuel. It’s more than just investing in drilling mud pumps or weight indicators . There’s a lot that we don’t know about the economics of oil extraction before we can pass a verdict on oil production. The Variability of Oil There are two broad classifications for oil deposits . The first refers to the weight of oil and its API gravity. This measures the density of the fuel. The second classification measures the flavour of the oil. It can be either sweet or sour, which indicates the presence (or absence) of sulphur. These classifications help oil producers bifurcate crude oil that can easily be processed into high-end fuel and raw oil that needs heavy refining to be used. Light, sweet oil is an excellent fuel and, thus, hig