One of the terms that you might hear from time to time is “tight oil”, and those who aren’t intimately connected with the oil industry might not know what it means. Tight oil is a type of conventional oil found in reservoirs that have low permeability. This simply means that the oil in the rocks will not flow very well without the right drilling techniques and processes. Typical oil rigs that are drilling for regular crude oil will drill vertically. In order to get at the tight oil, it requires horizontal drilling instead. Using the horizontal technique, along with fracturing makes it easier to get to those hard to reach reservoirs full of tight oil.
Why Go After Tight Oil?
Since it requires specialized techniques to obtain, many wonder why oil companies go after this type of oil in the first place. There are actually a number of reasons for this. For starters, even though the technique is different, it doesn’t mean that it’s more difficult or more expensive thanks to the high quality pieces of technology available today. The advances in technology make it possible to reach and extract this oil far more easily than in the past, so now is really one of the best times to go after it.
Another reason is that oil remains the most important source of fuel for the world, and that means that we will continue to need more of it. The tight oil reserves are proving to be a huge benefit for many oil companies, as there is far more oil than many imagined. There is really no fear of “running out of fuel”, as some might have you believe. Also, the tight oil tends to be high quality, and this means that it doesn’t usually need as much refinement.
Tight oil is also readily available throughout much of North America. California, Nebraska, Texas, large swaths of Canada, and other areas have been explored and found to be full of tight oil. This is evident from the recent boom that the US and Canada experienced. Having domestic oil can help to cut down on dependence of foreign oil.
When all of the correct safety protocols are followed, you will also find that taking this type of oil from the earth can be quite safe. Tight oil might be a little known term, but the oil behind it is important now and it will be important for many years to come.
About Oil Works Inc.
Oil Works, Inc. is a complete drilling rig equipment manufacturer and service provider based in the Permian Basin for over 20 years. OWI’s product and service offerings include Derricks, Substructures, Drawworks Manufacturing, Mud Systems, Rig Walking Systems, Power Generation, Control Systems, Iron Roughneck Service, Quincy Air Compressors. We are a complete Drilling Equipment Manufacturer and build to API and ISO standards. OWI is also proud to offer 24/7 Service and Support.
