Industry Overview
The Drilling process is made possible through the efforts of three distinct entities...
The Operator, the Contractor, and the Service Industry.
Operators ( ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco, BP, Shell, etc. ) spend millions of dollars each year on research in order to locate new geological fields in the world that hold oil and gas. Recently, discoveries in the U.S. have prompted major activity and planning within the industry. The Haynesville, the Bakken, the Marcellus, ANWR, Offshore, and others have energy reserves that have the ability to free America totally from foreign oil... Natural gas is obtained in the same manner as oil - by drilling.
The USA has more than enough natural gas within its boundaries
to be totally independent from other Nations.
For Example.... On April 10, 2008, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) released their field report about the Bakken. The formation stretches across North Dakota, Montana and Saskatchewan. The report estimates that 3.65 billion barrels of oil can be recovered from the Bakken formation. According to the USGS, "This is the largest oil accumulation in the lower 48 states. It is also the largest continuous type of oil accumulation ever assessed by the USGS."
Operators decide what areas to lease and where and when to drill. Then they lease a drilling rig (Contractor) and move it to the location selected. The Contractor owns the drilling rig, provides equipment and machinery necessary for drilling operations, and employs all the personnel required to operate the rig. The Service Industry provides all the services (pipe, casing, casing crews, cementers, loggers, directional drilling, drilling fluids, drilling fluid technicians {that's where we come in}, etc...) necessary to get the job done. The services personnel, like the Contractor, are also hired by the Operator for their specific skills, talents, and products.
The three basic entities work together as a team under the direction of the Operator to drill and produce the well(s). Each depends upon the other to perform their respective assignments in a safe and efficient manner. All three, the Operator, the Contractor, and the Service Companies are necessary, integral parts of the successful drilling operation.
