The shale industry has made leaps forward in the last ten years, and many lend credit to the new oil and gas extraction techniques. Despite OPEC’s decision to cut export revenues by more than half, the rise in the production of shale oil has helped to increase the value of the US dollar. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that shale in Texas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and other parts of the US has been a game changer to the US economy. In this blog post, we look at how advanced technologies have helped reduce the price of a barrel of oil by 60 percent in the US.
Hydraulic Fracturing
Hydraulic fracturing has been a part of oil and gas production since 1947. It is a stimulation technology, which allows extraction of oil and gas from difficult geographic formations, when combined with horizontal drilling. In hydraulic fracturing, a combination of water, propellant, and water is filled inside the wellbore to create cracks in a solid rock formation. The technology is so effective that there are more than a million hydraulically fractured wells in the U.S that have produced 7 billion barrels of oil and 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.
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Horizontal Drilling
When directional drilling was combined with hydraulic fracturing, it revolutionized the oil and gas production landscape. In horizontal drilling, an underground cable or pipe is inserted in a specific path to minimize its affect on the surrounding areas. Any wellbore that is more than 80 degrees is considered to be ideal for horizontal drilling. You can expect at least a 20 times increase in oil production (when compared with vertical drilling) with horizontal drilling.
Seismic Mapping
Seismic mapping is used to get detailed images of rocks and their accurate location under the surface. The information helps in calculating the size and exact location of an oil and gas reserve. Sound emitting devices are used to bounce sound waves from underground rocks to find hydrocarbon reserves. The echo signatures that are returned to the device from the sound waves are converted into 3D maps for further analysis.
Wrapping Up
The paradigm shift in oil production is giving shale owners the confidence to explore more areas in Texas and Oklahoma as well as other regions. We know that the demand of oil is going to rise in the coming years and many investors are looking at oil and gas as a very profitable investment sector. The number of businesses and individual investors in oil and gas production has greatly increased in the recent years. For those who are considering investing in the oil and gas sector in Oklahoma or other shale formations, there could be no better time than now. FIG Tree Capital Ventures is here to help you get started. To learn more, call our investment experts at (866) 300-2170 today.
