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Drillers Look To Increase Efficiency With Ambient Seismic Imaging
- By Design Team
- •
- 29 Mar, 2016
As both crude oil and natural gas prices continue to drop, many oil and gas companies have been looking at ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their oil and gas production. Rather than scaling back operations, companies are increasingly looking towards technology to reduce costs and thereby increase profits. Ambient seismic imaging is a new tool that could radically improve the process of discovery.
THE BENEFITS OF AMBIENT SEISMIC IMAGING
Ambient seismic imaging uses data to create a geographic map of potential oil and gas resources. The predictive technology provides a non-invasive way for geoscientists to determine areas that have the highest possible likelihood of fruitful drilling. In the past, the discovery of new oil and gas resources often required that disruptive and expensive physical exploration be done. Often, oil and gas companies spend millions of dollars exploring areas in which oil and gas are not found. This greatly increases the driller's cost per barrel. By making it easier, faster, and less expensive to reliably discover oil and gas resources, ambient seismic imagining will lower the per barrel extraction prices of oil and gas companies.
And it isn't just about cost. Ambient seismic imaging will also make the process of recovering oil much faster, thereby making it easier to produce the large volumes of oil and natural gas that the world will need. It's believed that the next decade will see a drastically increased need for oil and gas as the usage of coal goes down. Oil and gas are both substantially better for the environment than coal, and a shift towards natural gas has already vastly reduced pollution throughout the world.
THE DANGER OF SCALING BACK PRODUCTION
Seismic imaging is only one of many ways that North American oil and gas companies are now seeking to reduce their costs. Oil and gas companies have been using revolutionary new methods such as hydraulic fracturing in efforts to reduce the overall expenses related to their process and begin making significant per barrel profits again. The oil and gas market is currently artificially depressed because of the actions of OPEC, and more specifically Saudi Arabia. These actions have been taken with the express goal of driving North American oil and gas out of the market. If North American companies choose to scale back their production, both the United States and Canada will find themselves once again dependent on foreign oil once the market rebounds.
The need for oil and natural gas is constantly rising, and the world's energy needs cannot be currently met by sustainable or alternative fuels. By ramping up production through methods such as ambient seismic imaging, unconventional drillers will also be able to ensure the world's energy future. Equally importantly, through these methods, domestic oil and gas companies will be able to retain their hold on the current oil and gas market. Heavy Iron Oilfield Services offers a wide range of affordable rental equipment for oil and gas companies looking to reduce their costs. Contact Heavy Iron Oilfield Services today for a quote.
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