When we put state-of-the-art technology to work,
weput America to work.
Subsea technology combines production wells
from many fields into just one platform, with
less effect on the environment.
Extended-reach drilling allows the industry to
bring product to market without installing an
offshore platform.
America’s oil and natural gas industry is at the forefront of breakthrough
technology that will help deliver the energy that Americans need today and tomorrow
while also reducing the environmental impact.
Oil and gas production takes place safely and efficiently every day,
energizing America. Developing new resources in new areas would help our
economy by creating new jobs, providing government revenue and allowing domestic
energy to meet more of America’s energy needs. America’s oil and natural gas
industry stands ready to make the multi-billion dollar investments needed to
develop our country’s vast untapped resources – if federal and state policies would
allow it.
Technology opens doors to new frontiers,
allowing development in challenging environments, like
offshore Alaska, or in the deep waters of the Gulf of
Mexico. Thirty years ago, companies were pushing to
drill in 5,000 feet of water. Now, drill ships in the Gulf of
Mexico operate in 10,000 feet of water – almost two
miles below the surface – and can drill another 30,000
feet below that to access the oil and natural gas.
Using less, we can get more. State-of-the-art innovations, such as subsea
technology, allow oil and natural gas companies to install fewer platforms – with
less effect on the environment – than they did just decades ago. Twenty years ago
a company might have to install 10 platforms to access multiple deepwater oil and
natural gas fields. Now they can drill wells in these fields from a temporary rig and
connect production from multiple fields into a single processing hub – all located
underwater – before the oil and natural gas is sent to a single platform, where it can
then be shipped through an underwater pipeline to shore. Applying this technology
near the shore would mean that, with careful placement of the platform, there
would be no permanent visual impact after 6 to 18 months of surface activity.
Extended-reach drilling technologies minimize the visual impact and
environmental risks of drilling. A decade ago, a company might have to build a
platform five miles off the coast to access the oil and gas under the water. Now,
with the right geologic conditions, it can access these
resources using an onshore drilling rig to drill undersea
extended-reach wells from the shore and bring the
product to market without installing an offshore platform.
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Copyright 2010 – American Petroleum Institute,
all rights reserved. 2010-005 | 01.10