Reducing Surface Impacts

Let’s face it, we all like the benefits that oil and natural gas brings to our lives, but most of us don’t want to see oil and natural gas wells and facilities where we live or in areas where we go for recreation. Fortunately, due to technological innovations, oil and natural gas wells and facilities have substantially reduced their surface impacts.

Source: Department of Energy Environmental Solutions Program

Source U.S. Energy Information Administration Table 5.9 Refining Capacity

As you can see, surface footprints on land due to exploration and production are down, as are the number of wells needed to access reserves underground. Compared to 30 years ago, the U.S. has 47% fewer refineries are turning 8% more oil into useful products such as fuels we need each day and feed stocks for products such as plastics and medicines. And oil and natural gas facilities can be hidden or disguised to make them fit into the surroundings.

These trends have been achieved through the dedication and innovation of the 9.2 million men and women of the oil and natural gas industry:

• Seismic and Imaging Technology: Advanced 3D seismic and imaging technology allows explorers to “see” underground with greater accuracy, reducing the number of wells drilled that fail to find oil or natural gas.

• Horizontal and Directional Drilling: As many as 20 wells can be drilled from a pad that used to house just one well in the past, reducing surface impacts. Wells from these pads can be drilled out horizontally several miles from the surface location. This reduces both the number of drill pads needed and the number of surface roads as well.

• Multilateral drilling allows multiple offshoots from a single wellbore to radiate in different directions and contact resources at different depths, which reduces the surface areas that must be disturbed.

• Hydraulic Fracturing: Hydraulic fracturing is used in many areas to improve production while reducing the number of wells needed. During this process, primarily water and sand are pumped into oil and natural gas formations to crack the rock, facilitating the flow of oil or natural gas to the surface. To keep the cracks within the producing formation, sensitive listening devises are used to monitor the cracking process.

• Subsea Completions: Subsea completions, which rest completely on the ocean floor, allow oil and gas development adjacent to existing offshore platforms, reducing the need for additional platforms.

• Reef Development: Offshore platforms, when no longer needed, are either brought back onshore for recycling or are towed to areas in need of improved ocean habitat and sunk, with government approval, to form artificial reefs, which provide a refuge for marine organisms.

• Compact systems: Advanced drilling systems are both quieter and more compact than their predecessors, making it possible for oil and natural gas facilities to coexist more comfortably with local plant, animal and community life.