How Has Science and Technology Made the Oil Industry Safer Than Ever?

 Energy  

The oil and gas industry has made considerable advancements in safety and drilling that has allowed them to continue to prosper even among some of the stiffest competition in the world.

Have you ever wondered with all the new technology nowadays if it has ever reached other industries in the world? Well, believe it or not, the oil and gas industry has made some very exciting advancements in safety and drilling that has allowed them to continue to prosper even among some of the stiffest competition in the world.

How It Is Drilled

One of the most important technological advances that has helped the oil industry is the way in which the oil is actually extracted. New technologies in drilling techniques and equipment have helped to discover oil production amounts that double or triple that of older drilling techniques. The new modern horizontal drilling technique and advances in fracking practices have allowed oil workers to be more precise in their drilling techniques. They are able to make real-time adjustments in maneuvering the equipment so that they can reach the most effective and resource rich areas for drilling.

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Quality of the Pipe

Companies like Trailhead Engineering, LLC are continually making their equipment safer and keeping their employees up-to-date as new technologies arise although it can be costly. Preventing accidents is better than having to deal with the cost of cleanup later and shutting down the pipeline. One of the ways oil companies are making their environments safer is with the piping itself. Reinforcing the piping and testing it to make sure it withstands the external pressures is a way to ensure safer practices.

Use of Robots

Incredibly, the uses of robots or ROV's as they call them, are used now in deep-water oil drilling. The most difficult work is now being done by the robots and not humans, thus keeping them out of harm’s way. Many times, there are more than a dozen ROV's being used at once on an oil rig, which supports the human effort of extracting oil. They also have been the key in saving oil rigs from potential disasters as well as being available in the case of an emergency to help shut pipes down when disaster strikes.

Even with oil prices dropping, we are in a time when energy needs are at its highest, and oil companies are keeping up with the demand. These new technologies have allowed them to access more oil in a shorter amount of time as well as improve their drilling techniques to make it safer for workers to drill and work in a safer environment. Oil drilling will always be a very dangerous job, but thanks to technology, there are fewer deaths and accidents each year.

By Meghan Belnap

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