Results tagged “drilling”

An article in today's Shreveport Times discusses the initial production results of Bossier Shale formation, and the findings are encouraging enough that it is expected to become a major player in U.S. natural gas development. The first Bossier Shale well was drilled in August flowed at 9.4 million cubic feet per day.

A Walton Sun (Florida) op-ed, authored by geoscientist Al Swiercz and published last week, discussed the benefits of offshore drilling for Florida residents and the United States. Swiercz said that exploration would "not only protect the beauty of our beaches, but allow us to reap the benefits of offshore exploration," including tax revenues, jobs--including "blue-collar" rig jobs which pay upwards of $75,000 per year--and great fishing areas around offshore platforms.

Today, AAA reported that yesterday's nationwide retail gasoline prices climbed to a nationwide $2.695 per gallon average, the highest average price this year. Despite this sharp gasoline price increase, which has been driven by strong crude oil prices, the federal government has done little to help increase the supply of domestic crude oil, the basic feedstock of gasoline.

As I've discussed on this blog, I recently traveled with a group of bloggers to visit man-made islands where drilling for oil and natural gas occurs in coastal waters--the THUMS Islands in Long Beach, CA.

One of the most reliable barometers of drilling activity is the Baker Hughes rig count. Since 1944, Baker Hughes, an oil services company that produces drill bits, has been issuing weekly counts of U.S. and Canadian rotary drilling rigs that are actively drilling for oil and natural gas. The weekly figures are released at noon on the last day of the work week and are regular features in many energy industry magazines and newsletters.

"In the past three decades, the petroleum business has transformed itself into a high-technology industry... In some cases, these improvements have been evolutionary, while in others, they have been revolutionary."- Doug Morris, API, before the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation, Oct. 15, 2009.

This week's episode focuses on a recent tour of the THUMS Islands, a group of four manmade islands in California's Long Beach Harbor, where oil and natural gas are produced. The episode also features sound bites from Frank Komin, president of Occidental Petroleum, and Charlie Plant, production manager of White Island.

Architect Joesph Linesch (1924-1996) had a vision for Long Beach, California--to become the Riviera of the West, a nearly fantasy-like harbor rivaling the buildings and landscapes he designed for Disneyland and Epcot Center. Between 1965 and 1968, he created structures and landscaping that make the oil production facilities here look like a high-end condominium complex.

Thursday was another gorgeous day in Long Beach, with blue skies and a pleasant breeze blowing along the harbor. At Lighthouse Point, children picnicked with their families while fishermen on a nearby pier caught croakers for supper. At the docks, you could hear seals barking at the Aquarium of the Pacific as tourists returned to shore on boats offering whale watching tours.

Long Beach has many attributes, among them a moderate climate, one of the busiest seaports in the United States and facilities that lure tourists to the area, including a massive convention center. But most residents here aren't aware of the hidden resources that have contributed so much to the City of Long Beach.

"A lot of residents don't know there is oil and natural gas development going on here," explained Curtis Henderson, the city's manager of oil operations.

No one likes to watch sausage being made, but most of us enjoy sausage. That seems to be the case with oil and natural gas, too. The vast majority of Americans enjoy the benefits afforded by these energy-rich fuels, but some Americans would prefer not to see how they are produced.

The City of Long Beach successfully addressed the "sausage-making issue" back in the 1960s when it passed a resolution allowing several oil companies to produce energy in its harbor. It said the companies could create man-made islands to drill for oil and natural gas in the coastal waters, but in return the companies had to disguise their activities. The companies agreed, and the THUMS Islands were born.

BP has announced a so-called "giant" oil discovery in the ultra-deep waters of the Gulf Mexico that might contain more than 3 billion barrels of oil. The discovery was made at the Tiber Prospect, which is about 250 miles southeast of Houston. As reported by Bloomberg, the well is the world's deepest exploratory well, drilled down to 35,055 feet, a distance that's greater than the height of Mount Everest.

In the heat of the gubernatorial campaign in Virginia, the Commonwealth's Speaker of the House is pushing the federal government to open the coastline to oil and natural gas development. Speaker William Howell has sent a letter to the Obama administration urging the leasing of 2.9 million acres of the Outer Continental Shelf along Virginia's coast by 2011.

This week marks the 150th anniversary of the first successful oil well drilled in the United States. In 1859, Col. Edwin Drake drilled down to a depth of 69½ feet near a creek in Pennsylvania where oil naturally seeped out of the ground and in the process, he changed the American way of life.

In a move that relieves some of the legal worries about offshore oil and natural gas development, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ruled that the 2007-2012 offshore leasing plan can move forward uninterrupted.

California wisely has decided to use a portion of its abundant natural resources to pay for services to its citizens. An estimated $1.8 billion in state royalty payments are expected over the life of developing these resources, and the funds will help defray the state's budget shortfall as well as increase our nation's energy security.

Yesterday's Richmond Times-Dispatch editorial, "Energy: Drill, Baby" discussed the nation's current and potential energy reserves and stressed the importance of increased access to oil and natural gas:

"...The country needs a broad spectrum of reliable and abundant energy sources. But fossil fuels will continue to make up a major part of the equation for years, if not decades. Start drilling--now."

There are 3,800 oil and natural gas production platforms and 74 operating drilling rigs in the federal, hurricane-prone waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

They are responsible for about 27 percent of the oil and 11 percent of the natural gas produced in the United States every day. These energy resources help to power our cars, homes, and factories, and have a role in nearly every consumer product sold in America today.

A couple of days ago, we posted a photograph taken at the Offshore Technology Conference and challenged you to tell us what it is. A sculpture at the Reliant Center in Houston? An artist's rendering of an octopus? Perhaps a close-up of a broach from the 1920s?

Actually, it's a 12 ¼" hybrid drill bit that grinds deep into the Earth in the search for oil and natural gas. But it has a lot in common with high-end jewelry. The black dots in the golden arms are diamond grit embedded in a cobalt matrix.

Several people at the Offshore Technology Conference were very impressed with the item in the photo below.

Do you know what it is?

Here's a hint: It's an integral part of every drilling rig.

Now that I've attended a few panel discussions here at the Offshore Technology Conference, it's abundantly clear that many of the speakers are in agreement over the issues that threaten America's ability to plan for a secure energy future. They mention the lack of bipartisanship in Congress, the fact that the oil and natural gas industry has been "demonized" by its critics, and the tone and content of the national debate over energy policy. As Karen Harbert of the Institute for 21st Century Energy said yesterday, the ongoing energy conversation has been "captured" by those who have their own agenda.