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Posted on 12/08/2011 6:19:10 AM PST by thackney
The Permian Basin has hit an all-time high for the number of active oil rigs. What we're seeing right now is the impact of a thriving oil industry, we're in the middle of a historic boom. It seems like we are breaking records left and right. First in retail spending, sales tax revenues and now oil rigs, this is a boom to remember.
"It's a good time to live in west Texas," said Morris Burns, Oil and Gas Consultant.
More rigs, more oil, more money. The Permian Basin is in the middle of a historic boom.
"It's certainty excellent economic times for people in the oil industry and servicing the industry," said Burns.
There are currently 400 rigs drilling at full speed in the Basin, beating the 399 record set in 1981. Oil and gas experts say technology is driving the oil frenzy.
"We're able to fracture these wells, which is primarily driving the rig count right now," said Burns.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbs7kosa.com ...
Good news! Wonder how long till Obama steps in and F’s it up.
They started trying at least 7 months ago.
Protection for lizard may threaten West Texas oil production
http://www.chron.com/business/energy/article/Protection-for-lizard-may-threaten-West-Texas-oil-1621594.php
Lizard, W. Texas oil are both in danger
Putting little guy on endangered list could slow production to a crawl
Ok, so why thes is oil hovering around $100.00 per barrel?
I should have added, like the Keystone XL pipeline, they have put off making adecision, most likely until after the next elections.
Federal Agency Delays Decision on West Texas Lizard
http://www.texastribune.org/texas-state-agencies/general-land-office/federal-agency-delays-decision-west-texas-lizard/
12/1/2011
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has put off a decision on whether to declare the dunes sagebrush lizard, which lives in West Texas and eastern New Mexico, an endangered species.
Instead, the agency plans on getting a six-month extension to gather more scientific evidence and public comments, according to a statement released today.
Because it is around $100/barrel, they are increasing the drilling.
If it was $30/barrel, the rigs would be setting idle.
Obama is probably screaming at his staff right now: “Why the #@%$# weren’t those rigs all sent to Brazil??! Who issued those permits?? You MFing @#$@#ers”
finally an answer that makes some sense. Thanks
To further explain:
The high prices help justify enhanced recovery methods that would not be economic at lower prices.
The Permian Basin, Past and Present
http://www.pump-zone.com/upstream-pumping/permian-basin/the-permian-basin-past-and-present.html
New Life for Old Plays and Depleted Wells
According to the Bureau of Economic Geology in Texas, the use of enhanced recovery practices could mean greater success for U.S. oil production. Reserves thought unproductive in the past are producing today, thanks to new technology like the one described in Doug Walser’s article.
Joseph Lee, region technical manager, Cudd Energy Services, says his company has had success with new technologies. Delayed hydration gel plugs have been used for diversion in horizontal acidizing applications. Coaster Fracs, where slick water and low proppant concentrations are used to stimulate existing producing intervals to return production to previous levels, have also been successful for Cudd.
Other technologies in use extensively in the Permian Basin are hydraulic fracturing, cryogenic applications, water flooding and CO2 injection. All these techniques are critical in producing previously unattainable oil reserves.
There is no such thing as “peak petroleum” as it is being constantly produced, by largely abiotic means, continuously. There is no limited supply of “dinosaur soup” that we shall use up in our lifetimes, and if we do, we have the technical capability to transform other organic substances into the amount and quality of synthetic petroleum we need.
Petroleum is a very compact and easily transformed energy storage medium. We have built most of the infrastructure over the past century on the easy access to coal, petroleum and their derivatives. To try to limit the extraction of energy to “approved” and politically correct methods, is to so artificially handicap ourselves, that we BECOME the third world nation.
Here is to more thorough and advanced methods of “reclaiming” the supposedly pumped-out and abandoned sources of the past, and revitalizing all that is truly American.
Conversion of mineral riches to wealth hs always been the key to greater prosperity, and any means which expedites this process only contributes to the overall growth.
Growth is not merely essential, it is the antidote to death and dying.
Debasement of the US currency?
There are number of reasons showing this myth to be false.
Try to explain why ALL of the oil gas accumilations ONLY are found in sedimentary basis with the aboitic theory.
Why is oil and gas ONLY source to sedimentary rock and nevery found in igneous rocks?
Why does oil breakdown under heat and pressure in a refinery, but is claimed to form from basic components into complex hydrocarbon under similiar condition in aboitic theory?
Here is to more thorough and advanced methods of “reclaiming” the supposedly pumped-out and abandoned sources of the past, and revitalizing all that is truly American.
Traditional oil fields have been know for decades to only recover 20~30% of the oil in place with basic pumping. Most of the oil discovered has been left in place because up until lately, there was no way to economically recover it.
With today's technology and today's prices, we can afford enhanced oil recovery of old fields with process like CO2 flooding of the field. West Texas now has a network of CO2 pipelines to do just that.
Horizontal wells in the Leonard and Wolfcamp Shales are probably the majority.
“Because it is around $100/barrel, they are increasing the drilling.
If it was $30/barrel, the rigs would be setting idle.”
Thack, What’s they make or break per barrel on this technology for extraction ?
“Debasement of the US currency?”
We have a winner.
Both in investor flight to commodities in general and currency debasement.
Each one is going to be different by some degree. At $10 a barrel, almost no modern drilling could be done almost anywhere.
Even similar fields can have significant difference.
As the number goes higher, you will see incremental increases, as it goes lower, you will see incremental decreases.
But it takes time to locate, lease, drill, complete then set up production. Some companies will continue to increase during a downturn if they see overall economics to turn around in a reasonable time for them.
Other companies, even if sure the price is going to rise soon, are on too shaky financial turns to handle the decrease in cash flow and get out while they can.
I know that is no answer, but there is no one magic number.
Other things that effect it are how fast price changes. If the oil price rise very quickly and lots of new players get in the game all at once, the cost of doing the same business climbs fast as well. If you overrun the local workforce or material and equipment supply, you will have to pay inflated prices to bring that in from other areas or professions. Boom and Bust is all to common in the oil patch for just this reason.
Thanks very much for that info.
By “largely abiotic means”, I do not preclude the vast stores of natural gas and petroleum found in sedimentary deposits. As may or not may not be known, the floor of the ocean, in fact any body of water deeper than about 500 meters or so, the constant temperature is about 4 degrees Centigrade and at least some multiple of the atmospheric pressure at sea level. Under these conditions, any methane gas (which exists both as one of the elementary building blocks of the universe and as an end product of organic decay) combines with water to form a substance called “Methane Hydrate”, a substance that stays stable so long as the temperature remains below about 6 degrees Centigrade or so. As it is just slightly heavier than fresh or saline water, it remains on the bottom, gradually being silted in the ooze at the bottom. As this ooze solidifies into sedimentary rock, it is trapped and becomes a natural gas reservior, to be tapped millions of year later.
In the presence of certain catalysts, the methane molecule will reform into longer and longer chain hydrocarbons, thus the accumulation of petroleum in these deposits.
Oil does not “break down” during the distillation refinement process, it is separated into fractions with different volatilization and condensation points. The very long chain hydrocarbons may be successfully “cracked” by passing the substance in vapor form over a catalyst that breaks down the long carbon chain, and adds hydrogen at the point where the break in the chain occurred, creating two or more molecules of a much “lighter” petroleum fraction.
In the process used in converting organic matter into light hydrocarbons, called “thermal depolymerization”, the other vital ingredient is - water. At about 400 degrees and pressure ranging from 4 to 10 times atmospheric standard, the organic matter, be it turkey intestines, used condoms, old mattresses, lumberyard waste, or even old asphalt, is converted at a very rapid rate (less than two hours) into various kinds of light petroleum and some mineral ash, with a separate quantity of some of the water that was originally incorporated into the process.
We shall NEVER run out of petroleum.
There is no oil/gas production anywhere outside of sedimentary basins.
Thermal depolymerization and similar process is essentially the source of all our oil/gas. As algae, planton and other biotics accumulate in the sediment, over time with increased heat and pressure they are broken down into the hydrocarbons we produce today.
The process hasn't ended, but it is a slow, slow process. If there process occurred anywhere near the world's present consumption over the hundreds of millions of year, the oil would be miles thick all over the world.
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