America loves oil. You might be sitting behind your keyboard, furiously typing away just because of that first sentence.
NO, you type feverishly. OIL IS BAD! WE ARE USING UP OUR PLANET’S NATURAL RESOURCES AND SOON THERE WILL BE NOTHING LEFT! CLEAN ENERGY IS THE ANSWER!
And while all of this may be true, it doesn’t necessarily mean that a clean energy solution is completely feasible. Not for now, at least. The truth is, America is powered by natural gases. In fact, as of June 2015, the United States had 222 oil rigs that were directed towards natural gas. And every year, American uses approximately 9 billion barrels of oil to power our homes, businesses, and beyond.
Sure, green efforts are being made slowly and surely, but for now, it’s likely that you have the privilege to be angry at directional drilling companies in your air conditioned home behind your lit computer screen with a bowl of imported papaya in your lap, all because of natural gas.
So whether your like it or not, oil drilling isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
In the meantime, you might as well understand drilling services and the industry at large, because hey. Being an informed consumer is better than being an angry one!
So here’s the drill:
Since the 1920s, American oil and gas industry has employed directional drilling services to obtain natural gases, lay pipelines, and even tasks such as installing underground power lines (by the way, 18% of America is powered using these underground babies!).
Directional drilling can be broken down into four categories: surface inseam, directional boring, horizontal directional drilling, and oilfield directional drilling. Directional drilling means that the drilling is done at a slant, and goes in a multitude of directions, as opposed to just up and down. Technically, this method is used because it is not only cost-effective, but it saves time and minimizes negative environmental impacts.